Merry Shandy
by IReadAndWriteSometimes
Summary: A fluffy, surprise-filled Christmas and New Year's Eve story, set after Andy's latest heart scare.
1. Chapter 1 - Superstitious

Hello there!

So, one of you suggested I write something Christmas-y. And well, I've decided to give it a go. I have a general idea of where I might be going with this, and so far I've even written the majority of 4 chapters. However, while I expect to maybe write 2 more to finish the story, since each time I re-read what I wrote something new pops into my head, I might do a lot of re-writing, too. And who knows, if you come up with some interesting suggestions or ideas, those might influence me as well!

I am fairly certain though that this will mostly be a fluffy, funny, family story. Don't expect any angst, I'm not sure I can write that at all. XD  
Also, with this being my first episodic story with connected chapters, and it takes a while for me to have the pieces fit together as properly as I'd like them to, I'm pretty sure I won't be posting daily updates like I had been during my two earlier projects.

The following story is slightly AU. All in character (I hope), but since it's set after 5x13 and will include characters we're not sure still exist in the MC universe, don't be surprised if it strays from canon.

Anyway, here's the first chapter. Not too long, not too eventful, but hopefully, good enough to pique your interest.

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - Superstitious**

He had been napping on the couch when he heard the door open and Sharon's voice as she talked into, he assumed, her phone.

"Oh, I can't wait, honey!"

He sat up and heard the jingle of her keys as she probably locked the door behind her. "Yes."

He leaned his head over the back of the couch his head to look at her sideways. "Great, love you, too, bye!" she said, depositing her things in the hallway and slipping out of her heels.

"Ricky?" he inquired, just as she dropped her phone back into her purse.

She walked past the couch, stopping to press a kiss to his forehead in greeting. "Yes," she almost singsonged, resuming her route around the couch to sit down next to him.

When she sat down, he dropped a kiss to her lips. "Good news, I take it?" he asked, lifting his arm around the back of the couch, inviting her closer.

"The best," she confirmed, leaning into him and moving an arm behind his back, around his waist, "he's coming home for Christmas after all!" She looked at him and squeezed his side excitedly.

He grinned at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her tightly in response. "How long can he stay?"

"Oh," she sounded less excited now, sad even, "he has to go back on the second day of Christmas already."

"When is he arriving?" he asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon, around the same time Emily is," she said.

"So they'll both be here for," he paused to count in his head," 3 full days?" Emily, too, was leaving on the 26th.

"Yes," she sighed.

"Well, that's better than last year, you haven't seen either one of them last Christmas," he offered with a shrug.

"True," she admitted.

She fell silent, looking through rather than at him so he quirked an eyebrow at her. When she remained quiet, he spoke, "You know how I can tell you're excited?"

"Huh?" she refocused her gaze, actually seeing him now. "How?" she asked.

"You've been here for 5 minutes already and haven't asked how I was feeling yet," he flashed her a crooked smile.

Her eyes widened only fractionally and ever so briefly before she schooled her features. "Well, you look just fine to me," she told him, pushing herself off him to sit straight as she regarded him.

"Uh-huh," he told her, not buying it.

Ever since his little heart scare, she had asked him how he felt each time they didn't see each other for more than a couple of hours. He insisted on calling it a little heart scare because it turned out to have only been a mild heart attack and after running some tests, it was decided that he would not need stents or bypass surgery. After a three and a half day stay at the hospital he was discharged with new and adjusted medication and strict instructions to lay off physical exercise for the time being. Within a week of being released from the hospital he was back to working behind a desk and by now he was even cleared for fieldwork. None of that though, had thus far assured Sharon enough to stop her from checking in on him whenever possible. It was starting to, ever so slightly, grate on his nerves, but he understood. He still remember how terrified he had been when it happened, he could only too easily imagine how terrified she must have felt.

And now, almost 2 and a half months after the incident, this was the first time she hadn't asked. He was fairly certain it had to do with her excitement over her children's impeding visit but he would still take it as a good sign.

"Ricky said," she started and he took the fact that she didn't try offering any arguments for another good sign, "that he and Emily had a surprise for me."

"Really?" He smirked at her. "I bet not knowing what it is, is killing you."

She narrowed her eyes at her. "Andy," she started seriously, putting even more distance between them on the couch, "you wouldn't happen to know anything about it?" Her voice was coated in suspicion.

He wiggled his eyebrows and his smirk intensified. "Now, wouldn't you like to know, huh?"

He had no idea what the surprise was. But having Sharon Raydor believe he knew something she did not, was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Her eyes narrowed even more for a moment, but then she suddenly relaxed and leaned against the back of the couch and simply said, "Fine, I'll find out in a couple of days anyway!"

This made _him_ suspicious now. That was too easy. He decided to put it away for later but stay on alert. She'd be trying to get it out of him sooner or later, that was for sure.

"So," he started, patting one of her thighs, urging her to lift her feet up to his lap. When she did, he continued, "how did your errand go?"

They had a quiet day at work and as they were heading out, she informed him she had an errand to run and he should go ahead home. When he offered to go with her, she waved him off, saying it shouldn't take long. He suspected it had something to do with his Christmas present, so naturally he would pry into the matter now.

"Fine," she grinned at him, "all done."

She wiggled her pantyhose-clad toes, and as he readily wrapped a hand around one of her feet and started massaging it, he just hummed in acknowledgment to both her answer and her unvoiced request.

She rested her head against the pillow that was propped on the couch's armrest and looked at him. She was obviously in an excellent mood, if the happy smile that graced her features was anything to go by, and he was about to point that out, even though he knew where her mood came from, when she lifted their little silence instead.

"Those decorations aren't going to put _themselves_ up, you know," she told him, tilting her head to the box filled with nothing but Christmas stuff that was on the coffee table.

She had mostly finished decorating. The tree was up, the lights were up, a rather worrying number of angels was up and this was the last box of decorations left, which he had been supposed to put up. Truthfully, he decided to forgo that particular chore, since she would probably spend more time correcting his decorating decisions than it would have taken her to do it herself. He'll gladly help out, but that would be the extent of it.

"Well, it's either this," he squeezed her foot just a bit more than necessary, "or that," he looked at the box. "Your choice," he told her on a grin.

"Oh," she let out on a content sigh, "it can wait a moment longer then."

"What, this?" he asked, letting go of her foot, feigning surprise.

She wiggled her toes again. "Of course not," she told him flatly. She waved a hand at him. "Carry on, please."

He snickered. "Thought so," he said, tickling her foot, making her try jerking it away before he resumed his massage.

"I really, really hope we don't catch a case for the holidays," she said, almost pleading with either him or a higher power. Christmas Eve was in two days and, while he would work, she had taken the day off for Emily's visit. For Ricky's visit, too, now. But if they caught a case, she would be called into work regardless.

"Don't say that!" He all but shouted at her, stopping his ministrations. "Never hope for such things out lou-"

And as if on cue, her phone went off, effectively cutting him off. He loudly groaned and violently dropped his head against the back of the couch in disbelief.

She stood up and made her way back toward the hallway to dig her phone out of her purse. "Oh, would you stop, it's no-"

She fell silent when her eyes landed on the caller ID. She looked at Andy with wide eyes as she hit the accept button, "Yes, Lieutenant Provenza."

Andy just groaned one more time, already getting to his feet and trudging toward their bedroom.

"Okay," she followed Andy, still talking into her phone, "Yes, I will tell him. See you there, Lieutenant."

She ended the call and offered him an apologetic smile despite saying, "This is just a coincidence, Andy."

He had already dropped his suit onto their bed and was in the middle of changing. He stopped only for a moment long enough to shake his head at her. "Just tell me where we need to go," he mumbled.

"Well," she walked up to him as he was buttoning his shirt and took over the job for him, " _I_ 'm going into the office," he gave her a surprised look, but she ignored it, "and _you_ 're going to the Beverly Center to meet up with the rest of the team." She finished her sentence just as she closed the final button, punctuating it with a pat against his chest.

"What did Provenza call _you_ for then?" he frowned slightly. If Sharon wasn't needed at a crime scene, he would usually call him first.

"Chief Howard's with him, and he wants to meet me in my office," she explained, turning around to disappear into her closet in search for new clothes. Despite already being in work attire, a new case called for a new one.

"Go figure," he said. They had still not settled on a replacement for Chief Taylor, and so far, Howard has been filling in. If the crime scene was a shopping mall, it wasn't really surprising Howard would want a say in handling it then, too.

Andy grabbed his tie and put it around his neck. "Blue," he threw her way.

A second later she reemerged, business suit and blue blouse in hand. He smirked when she offered him a smile and an eyebrow quirk as she proceeded into the bathroom.

He was putting on his suit jacket when he heard her, "Would you please text Rusty where we are?"

"Sure," he said and went out of the bedroom in search of his phone. He needed to check in with him anyway. He might need his help, and it most certainly involved a Christmas present for a certain someone.

 **...**

They were about to part ways in the parking garage to head toward their respective cars (his request for a parking space next to hers, for reasons unknown, had not yet been granted), when she said, "I hope we-"

"No, no, no, no," he said pressing a finger against her lips, shushing her. "Don't say it." He put a bit more pressure against her lips as if to reiterate his command.

Her face practically erupted in amusement, eyebrows going up, lips quirking upwards against his fingertip, but she nodded. Only then did he remove his finger.

"I didn't know you were this superstitious." She seemed genuinely surprised.

He sighed. "I usually am not, but when it comes to work," he shook his head, " I swear..." he let the sentence drop.

"Fine," she propped up on her heeled toes to kiss him. "I'll stop hoping out loud then," she promised on a laugh.

"Thank you," he said, relieved, kissing her once more. "See you at work," he told her, walking away in the direction of his car.

"See you, be safe," she told him, walking away, too.

She smiled to herself when she heard his quip echo in the empty garage, "Always am!"

 **TBC**

* * *

Please review! I'd really like to hear your opinions on this chapter and even your ideas about future ones. As always, thank you for taking your time to read! :)


	2. Chapter 2 - Secrets

First of all: Oh, Lord, finally a (very late) return date! And have you read that synopsis? Holy crap!

Secondly, and more importantly: You people are wonderful! Thank you for the reviews and follows! :)

Here goes my next chapter. It's more of a filler really, but I promise, more is coming in the next one!

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Secrets**

"I am telling you, the Santa did it!" Provenza said for what felt like the millionth time in the last half hour.

"Provenza, I swear, if you say that one more time, I'm gonna slap you!" Andy turned his head around to look at him as he was following him into the murder room.

"The Santa did it!" Provenza said defiantly, folding his arms across his chest.

Andy looked heavenwards and sighed loudly, just in time for Julio to notice. "Everything alright, Lieutenant?" he asked.

"If I shoot him," Andy started, hooking a thumb at Provenza, who was snickering and moving to his desk now, while Andy made his way to his, "will you help me hide the body?"

Julio started chuckling but before he could offer an answer, they heard Sharon. "Whose body?" she asked, stopping behind Andy as she exited her office.

"Lieutenant Provenza's, Ma'am," Julio happily explained.

Sharon shot a look at Provenza, who looked oddly self-satisfied, and carefully raised an eyebrow at him. "Hm," she said, sounding suspiciously like someone who was actually entertaining Andy's idea.

That had Mike's head snap up (he had been busy typing on his computer and was only barely paying attention to them), "Ha!" he let out.

Provenza pointedly ignored him, but groaned when he saw Andy's smug grin as he wiggled his eyebrows and shook his head at his partner.

"Do you want to hear about the crime scene, or not?" he asked angrily. "Captain," he added apologetically, realizing just who he had snapped at.

"Yes, please, fill me in," Sharon said, back in business mode now, walking over to him.

...

Their late work day was followed by an early morning. Sharon and Andy were on their way to the morgue before heading to headquarters, to meet up with Provenza and Doctor Morales.

"Good morning," Morales greeted them cheerfully, making Provenza next to him roll his eyes.

They covered themselves up as usually and he led them into the autopsy room. On their way, Morales merrily asked. "So any Christmas plans? I'm staying at home this year."

Andy reluctantly mumbled, "Staying at home with family," answering for both him and Sharon.

"Driving down to Laguna Beach," Provenza mumbled in a similar manner, fumbling with the knot behind his back.

Sharon and Andy turned around in unison and shot him a surprised look before in, equally synchronized fashion, their looks turned inquisitive.

Provenza just shrugged, "What? We never did go."

Sharon smiled, but turned her attention to Morales, either not noticing or ignoring Andy rolling his eyes at his partner.

"Doctor," she started, "have you confirmed cause of death?" She looked at the folder in her hand. "Blunt force trauma?" she added.

...

On their way back to the murder room, they ran into Lieutenant Cooper so the moment Provenza stepped into the murder room, he zeroed in on Amy. "What was Cooper doing here?"

"Good morning to you, too, sir," she told him pointedly, even though she was smiling. "Just dropping me off, we're heading together to his parents' place for the holidays later." She swayed in her chair a little. "Work permitting, that is."

"Oh," Provenza's voice went up, "meeting the parents, are we?" he asked, leaning against the side of his desk and pinning Amy with a meaningful look.

"Ah, jeez," Andy let out from over his desk, making Sharon look at him in surprise. She was standing beside in front of her office. "If he gets started on his interrogation, we'll never get out of here," he explained quietly.

"I have already met his parents," Amy told Provenza, shrugging her shoulders. As if reading Andy's thoughts she quickly added, "So, what did Morales have to say?"

...

By late afternoon, they were all seated behind their desks trying to crack the case. They had been hitting dead end after dead end. And even Andy was starting to lean toward Provenza's idea that Santa did indeed do it. Their victim had been a young woman, who had been found in the shopping mall's Christmas wonderland dressed up as Santa's green little helper.

His analysis of Santa's financial records was interrupted when two voices piped up a cheerful, "Hello, everyone."

He heard the team returning the hello as he whirled around on his chair to be greeted by the sight of Emily and Ricky Raydor standing shoulder to shoulder, or, head to shoulder considering the height difference, with Rusty lurking behind, smiling at them.

Once his brain processed the names of their visitors, he practically leaped to his feet. "Hi, Emily," they exchanged a hug. "Ricky," he nodded, shaking hands with the young man.

"What time is it?" Andy glimpsed into Sharon's office, but her blinds were drawn. "We weren't expecting you."

Emily laughed at him and Ricky looked at him in wonder.

"Eh, it's 4:30, Andy," Rusty intervened, peeking between his adoptive siblings. "Remember, I was picking them up from the airport?"

"Oh, wow, time flies," Andy said in surprise. "Sorry, busy case, lost track of time," he rolled his eyes at the explanation.

"Where's mom?" Ricky asked.

Andy turned on his heel, "Come on," he invited them to follow with a wave of his hand, "I'm sure _she_ knows what time it is," he told them, shaking his head, making them chuckle.

He waved a finger at them to stop at the corner of her office and after they dutifully obliged his request, he knocked on her door. He cracked the door open only enough for him to stick his head in when she said "Yes?"

"Are you expecting someone?" he asked, trying to not sound too excited, but he knew his grin gave him away.

Her face erupted in a wide smile and she instantly got to her feet. Andy pushed the door wide open for her, moving to the side to let her pass by.

"Oh, Ricky, Emily!" she all but squealed when she set eyes on them, drawing both into a hug immediately. "You're here," she said when they pulled apart.

Mike and Julio exchanged amused looks. Not that they were unfamiliar with Sharon's mother mode, but it was still fun to see their ever collected Captain almost giddy like this.

"Yes, mom," Emily told her, shaking her head at her, sporting a smile that was as happy as her mother's.

Sharon gave her a pointed look, before turning around to face her team. "We should be out of here in an hour or so," she told her children, but gave her team a questioning look, probably hoping for an update.

"Oh, now she follows the no overtime rule," Provenza mumbled to himself, making Amy, who heard him, chuckle silently.

Unfortunately, Sharon heard him, too. She took a few steps toward him, brushing her hand against Ricky's arm in the process. "Have the DNA results come back yet?" she asked in a deceptively calm manner.

Of course they hadn't, it took at least 48 hours to process the samples, and it had barely been 24. "No," Provenza confirmed.

"How's the search for our suspect going?" she directed this question at Mike, Julio and Amy. Mike offered an answer, "No hit on the BOLO yet, Captain."

She turned around, "Andy, financials?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," he shrugged.

"And Buzz still hasn't found anything on the security footage either, Captain." Amy piped up.

"Alright," Sharon said, turning around to face Provenza again. "Let's wrap it up then." She gave him a dangerously pointed look. "If something comes up in the meantime they'll call us back in."

Provenza at least had the decency to look uncomfortable. He really hadn't meant for her to hear his jibe. "Yes, Captain," he nodded at her. "You heard her, wrap it up," he ordered the rest of the team, waving a hand at them.

"Um, mom?" Rusty started, now standing next to Ricky. When she turned around, he looked between Ricky and Emily before speaking. "We'll just go ahead, then. See you at home?"

"Okay, sounds like a plan." She stepped closer to them, kissing Ricky's and Emily's cheek. "See you at home, then."

...

"So, I'll pick them up around 7?" Rusty asked.

They were on their way to the condo. Rusty was driving and they were discussing their secret plan for the majority of the ride and were about to enter the condo complex's parking garage.

"Yes," Emily confirmed.

"Their flight's landing at 6:45," Ricky added.

Emily was in the passenger seat, having called shotgun as the eldest sibling and Ricky was in the middle of the backseat leaning in between the two seats in front of him, eagerly chipping in on the conversation.

"What's your excuse for heading out?" Emily looked at Rusty in askance.

Rusty groaned. "You know," he slanted her a look, "I don't think I've ever lied to her." The sentence drew raised eyebrows from both of his passengers. "Okay, by omission maybe," he admitted. "Anyway, I'm gonna tell her I'm meeting Gus."

"Nice," Ricky quipped, leaning back into his seat.

"Sure," Rusty rolled his eyes.

When Rusty finally parked the car, on their way to the elevator, Emily suddenly practically squealed. Both Ricky and Rusty shot her a "What's with you?" look.

"Oh, I can't wait to see mom's face!" Emily rubbed her hands together in excitement.

"Oh, I can't wait to see Andy's face," Rusty said in a low mischievous voice, smiling and punching the call button for the elevator.

...

A little while after Sharon and Andy arrived home, they gathered around the dining table for dinner. Rusty had excused himself, saying he had to meet Gus, and, only after successfully fending off Sharon's protest ("Why don't you invite him over?") by promising that it would not take long, did he manage to actually leave.

"So, Andy," Ricky started, lifting the lull in the conversation as they neared their dinner's end, "are you seeing Nicole for Christmas?"

"Ah," he sighed, rolling around the last piece of vegetable on his plate, "they are visiting Dean's side of the family this year. They live out of town." He perked up a bit when he added, "I'll see them on Tuesday though."

"What about your son?" Emily asked. She was sitting across the table from Andy, Sharon to her left and Ricky to her right.

"He won't be home for Christmas either." He waved his fork through the air. "Business," he explained.

He had been looking forward to at least seeing _his son_ for the holidays. Things had improved considerably between them, and although it was still a slightly more tentative situation with him than with Nicole, he had been over the moon at the prospect of seeing him for the holidays again. He knew his son did not blow him off on a pretense but would genuinely not be able to make the trip to LA, but he was still very disappointed.

"Wow, that sucks," Ricky said, feeling for the man. He knew what his mother was like when he and Emily couldn't make the trip. He could guess that it wasn't any different for Andy. When Andy sadly nodded, he knew his guess was right.

"So, Ricky," Sharon started, suspiciously casually, her plate already empty, and Andy instantly knew where she would be going with that, "you mentioned a surprise for me?"

Andy was rather taken aback by her direct approach, but when he saw both Ricky's and Emily's reactions, he could tell it was not an unprecedented occurrence.

Ricky and Emily grinned at each other first before plastering purposefully fake poker faces on themselves.

"You'll find out soon enough," they said in unison and Andy was convinced they had rehearsed the reply.

She aimed her fork at the duo, "I love you, but..." she dropped the sentence and shook her head, smiling at them even though she was anything but happy to be made to wait for so long.

"But you also hate us?" Ricky tried.

Emily quickly, before her mother could argue, added, "Just a little bit." She pinched her thumb and index finger together.

Andy grinned at Emily but when Sharon just stood up with an indulging smile on her lips, he arched an eyebrow in surprise.

Emily just shrugged and got up to help her mother, who was clearly about to start clearing the table. And when Ricky and him also stood up to follow, Ricky answered his unspoken question, "She does hate us a little bit right now." He was grinning from ear to ear, and Andy found it rather contagious, almost mimicking him with a grin of his own.

They were almost done clearing the table, when the doorbell ringing interrupted them.

Sharon looked at Andy in surprise, who just shrugged. "Rusty's got keys," he said unnecessarily.

She put down the towel she had been holding and said, "I'll go see who it is then."

Neither one noticed the smirks Sharon's children exchanged.

 **TBC**

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Sorry about leaving you hanging there. Well, not really, but you know how it goes! Hit the reviews please. I'll see you when I post my next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3 - Surprise!

Oh, I love your responses! Here's the resolution to that mean cliff hanger! Had to take a few liberties, but I hope you won't mind and that I have managed to stay in character.

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - Surprise!**

When Sharon reached the door, she first looked through the peephole.

Upon taking in the sight, she let out an "Oh, my God!" and swung the door open.

The strange exclamation had Andy practically jog after her in concern.

"Mom? Dad?" she let out in such a quiet voice that he was sure he must have misheard her. But then another worrying thought crossed his mind. What if he _had_ heard her right and something had happened?

But when he set eyes on her, a whole host of other concerning thoughts popped into his head.

Sharon was in the middle of wrapping her arms around none other than her mother. "Oh, my God!" she said again, pulling away to give her father, who was standing next to her mother, a hug as well.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked as she finally let go of both of them, actually letting them into the condo now.

"Hi, Sharry," her father told her, smiling merrily at her.

"Surprise!" her mother said, waving her hands and shrugging her shoulders in an eerily Sharon-like fashion.

"Surp-" Sharon started, but then her eyes landed on Rusty whom she hadn't noticed was standing behind her parents. Her eyes grew wide, and there was a ridiculously wide smile on her face as she turned around, her eyes in search of her other two children, what was going on having clearly dawned on her. They were grinning at her.

Ricky shrugged, but Emily said, "Surprise, mom!"

"I can't bel-," she stopped again, turning around to give Andy a quick look. However, when she noticed his dumbfounded expression, her smile instantly fell and her eyes narrowed.

On their way home earlier in the day (they carpooled to work this time) she had been trying to weasel out of him what her children's announced surprise was. He had spent the entire ride grinning at her and either dodging her questions or flat out refusing her any answers.

"You," she started, taking a few deliberate steps in his direction. When she reached him, she poked a finger into his chest. It looked much more painful than it really was. "You should be ashamed of yourself!" she told him.

That put frowns on all three of her children's faces, while her parents just looked at the scene, their eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Wait, what?" Rusty asked, peeking at them behind her parents.

She turned around to address him. "Andy here," she used a dangerous inflection to his name, "let me believe that he was in on your little surprise!" She was visibly agitated, but she spoke in a deceptively calm manner.

All of them, sans Sharon and Andy, burst out laughing.

Sharon's father was the first to speak, approaching Andy and extending an arm. "Ah, this one's a keeper then," he said, smiling. "Good evening, it's nice to meet you face to face finally," he told him as Andy shook his hand.

"Er," Andy was still trying to wrap his head around what just happened. "Good evening, Mr. O'Dwyer, nice to meet you, too," he managed to say in the end.

"Oh, son," the older man waved his hand at Andy, "I've told you already, call me Bill, please."

Andy nodded, "Bill," he said in verbal acknowledgment.

"I think you're right, honey," Sharon's mother said as she went over to Andy extending her own arm. "Pulling our daughter's chain is no easy feat," she informed him as Andy accepted her hand. "Nice to meet you, Andy," she told him, smiling warmly at him and shaking his hand.

"At long last," Andy smiled right back at her. "You, too," he gave her a pointed look, before adding, "Kate."

"A quick study, too," Kate added, quirking an eyebrow at her daughter.

Andy had met Sharon's parents, William and Catherine O'Dwyer, during a Skype call. It had happened back during his blood clot ordeal. One morning, he had walked out of Rusty's room, wrapped in his green robe, and having reached Sharon, who was seated at her desk, laptop open, he dropped a kiss on top of her head, mumbling a sleepy "Good morning." There was nothing unusual about the gesture. By then he had been on the second week of his stay with her and it had not been the first time he had greeted her like that. Only that time, instead of hearing Sharon's usual hum and "Good morning, how have you slept?" he had heard an unfamiliar, gruff voice emanating from the laptop saying, "Well, hello there."

When he had looked at the screen, startled more than he cared to admit, he had been greeted by the sight of two elderly people, well into their 80s, one of them a woman who, but for the deeper lines in her face, her brown eyes and grey hair, was the spitting image of Sharon. The man looked less familiar, but his green eyes were a dead giveaway as to his identity and he needn't have been a detective to realize whom he was facing. So admittedly, it had been an awkward, and certainly, unexpected affair, even though Sharon had, of course, told her parents about him, however, after that he had talked to them on the odd occasion or two, and they seemed like nice people who seemed to think the same of him.

From what Andy could gather during his rather limited online encounters with them, Sharon's father was the more laid back of the two, whereas her mother seemed more reserved, and Sharon resembled her in many more ways than just the physical. Having finally met the woman in person, his suspicion was only confirmed. There was a sense of graciousness and purpose around the both of them, often tainted (or possibly made even more beautiful) by a cute quirk or two. Both of her parents seemed to have quite a wicked sense of humor, another suspicion only further confirmed by this unexpected encounter, and that was something else Sharon must have picked up on from them. However, one thing that he believed showed they were family more than any physical similarities was the way they loved. Despite not having met them this close up until now, he had learned that Sharon's parents loved (and not only their daughter) as intensely as Sharon did, once she decided to love in the first place, and that was the ultimate proof of just how connected and related they were. Those few conclusions were more than enough for him himself to suddenly care rather deeply about them and to respect them immensely.

Both of Sharon's parents had practiced law, her father having retired as a judge, her mother unfortunately not. Being a woman, achieving that particular rank, back in her time, had been more difficult than it was today and sadly, that had been one honorable professional achievement she had had to miss out on, because, at one point, she had simply decided to put raising her children first. From what Sharon had told him, her father had been more than supportive of his wife in both a personal and professional capacity and ultimately, that decision had been solely her mother's. Knowing that, Andy believed that both Sharon's vested interest in climbing the ranks _and_ women's rights had been somewhat influenced or even driven by her mother's professional life story. But whether he was right or not, he knew that Sharon's parents were unbelievably proud of their daughter, and not just for her professional achievements either.

Sharon only allowed her parents to greet their other grandchildren before beckoning them with the wave of a hand to follow her. She purposefully ignored their antics and said, "Come, sit." She led them further into the condo toward the couch and when they finally sat down, she squeezed in between them, taking a seat on the couch as well.

The rest of them followed, too, Rusty and Ricky grabbing a chair from under the dining table to make themselves comfortable behind the couch, and Andy and Emily flopping into the orange chairs on either side of the coffee table.

"Not that I am not absolutely thrilled to see you," Sharon started, looking between her parents, "but what on Earth are you doing here? I thought you were spending Christmas at Mary's." Mary was her sister.

"Well," Bill dragged the word out on purpose, "we had a change of heart."

Deciding not to ask him to elaborate on the rather useless answer, she pressed on with the remaining questions on her mind at the moment. "How was your flight?" Sharon asked him. "Are you tired?" She aimed the question at her mother, who usually tired more easily than her father.

"Honey," Kate rubbed a hand down Sharon's arm, "don't worry, we're fine." She told her daughter soothingly. "We wouldn't have made the trip if we weren't."

Sharon relaxed somewhat. At their age, any kind of travel was draining and she shuddered to think of how they got even to the airport from home and much less of anything else then.

As if reading her thoughts her mother said, "Your brother drove us to the airport. And Rusty here," she looked at the young man over the back of the couch, "picked us up."

Sharon gave Rusty a look. "We'll talk about that, young man," she warned, but the smile on her face told him he was in no real trouble.

"Yes, mom," he drawled, rolling his eyes at her. Ricky, next to him, chuckled.

"Uh, Sharon," Andy started tentatively and her head snapped back to face him, instantly put on alert. Recognizing where her thoughts must have gone, he waved her worries off with a hand. "I really wish we'd gotten that house," he told her.

They actually had decided on a house they both wanted to buy. Despite his health scare and despite Sharon wanting to put it all on hold until she was certain he could handle the stress of not just house hunting but potentially moving as well, he had managed to persuade her to keep looking. Unfortunately, the house they had finally agreed on a few weeks ago had been snatched away from them by a higher bidding couple. So now they were back to scouring the market again.

Sharon snorted a laugh. "Oh my, you're right," she said, turning her attention to Ricky and Emily now. "Sleeping arrangements?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it," Emily told her, shaking her head.

"We booked a hotel," Ricky tilted his head at Emily, "and Rusty's renting out his room," he added on a grin.

At the disappointed look on her mother's face, Emily quickly added, "It's nearby, and we only intend to sleep there."

"Yeah, mom," Ricky chimed in. "Hotel food is a bit above our budget, too," he added on another grin.

"Besides, we can't miss out on grandpa grilling Andy now, can we?" Emily said cheekily, eyeing Andy across the coffee table.

Andy's eyes widened for a moment, but he quickly schooled his features. But before he could even start scrambling for words, Sharon came to his rescue.

"You will do no such thing," she admonished her father. "I'm not 16 for crying out loud," she told him in a no-nonsense kind of voice.

"Hmm, I don't know," her father leaned into the back of the couch, giving Andy a deliberately long look. "Isn't that a parent's prerogative," he looked back at Sharon, "no matter how old," he drawled the word, "you are?"

"Exactly, mom," Ricky piped up. "What is it you keep saying? You'll always worry?"

"We'll always be your little babies?" Emily added on a smile.

"They're always three," Rusty quipped, too.

"What?" Ricky's head snapped back to look at him. He missed his mother's amused eye roll. "Who's always three?"

Rusty squirmed slightly in his chair, lifting a leg up to sit on it as he readjusted his position. "Just something your mom told me once, that you're always three," he shrugged but gave Sharon a slightly concerned look.

Before Emily could offer her input, Sharon interjected. "And I stand by that." She gave Rusty a pointed look, when he grinned. "Oh, it goes for all three of you," she added, effectively erasing it.

Her mother laughed. When six heads turned to look at her, she shrugged. "Well, it's true, they really are," she said stoically, mirroring her daughter's pointed look and directing it at her.

It _was_ true, whenever she was reunited with her brother and sister, no matter how old she got, with them she would turn into a child again. So she offered her mother a guilty smile, but turned her head to address her eldest son.

"I must have misheard you, Ricky," she started at a deliberate pace that instantly made her son sit up a little straighter. "Calling your mother old?" The question in the words gave her voice a higher note, but it also warned her son to tread carefully.

A warning Andy did not register. He chuckled, earning himself an unimpressed glare from Sharon.

"So, Andy," Bill started seriously, effectively putting an end to the situation before it could escalate, and pinned the man with a look.

Andy could only hope he didn't pale, because he knew nobody could have missed the way he instinctively squared his shoulders. He scolded himself internally. He was a grown man, old age more appropriate to describe him than middle age, not that he would ever admit to that out loud, yet, here he was, suddenly rather nervous about whatever inquisition he was about to face. It wasn't his first one either, he reminded himself. But then again, those previous fathers, not that there were that many of those, were not the father of Sharon Raydor either.

Sharon, however, quickly put an end to his internal panic. "Dad," she warned strictly.

"Fine," her father told her, smiling reassuringly. "For now," he added on a mischievous grin.

Sharon simply shook her head, when Ricky said, laughter coating his voice, "Easy, grandpa, we don't want to give him another heart attack."

"Richard," Sharon all but hissed, lifting a finger at him in warning.

He just shrugged, "Too soon?"

"What do you think?" Rusty mumbled next to him, not in the least bit amused either.

He had been around them after it all happened. Sharon had been worried sick, even more so than during the blood clot ordeal, and frankly, he had been, too. Provenza had been as well. For all his usual bluster, he really had been, and that in and of itself had in turn worried Rusty even more. Andy wasn't even in the hospital that long and he knew that Andy was alright now, but he also knew why Sharon still worried and found the situation anything but funny. She had let her guard down after the blood clot and then the heart attack happened. So now she was almost hyper-vigilant. He understood her completely, and truthfully, he'd rather not revisit those memories and he would most certainly not like a repeat performance.

"Well, Andy disagrees," Rick defended himself, waving a hand at Andy.

With that, six heads turned to look at Andy now. He was grinning, clearly trying not to laugh.

"What?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders, and tried to pull himself together. "If you can't laugh about it..." His lips curved downward, his eyebrows went up and he shrugged again.

This time the rest of them laughed, too. All of them, but Sharon, although she did offer him an amused smile.

"Seriously though, Andy," Ricky started and, when Andy looked at him, he continued, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah," Emily agreed, while Rusty, Bill and Kate nodded.

Andy rubbed a hand against the back of his head. "Thanks," he said awkwardly, "I am, too," he added, looking at Sharon.

Sharon just smiled, grabbing a hand of each of her parents. She swept a look over the rest of the room. "You do know I love you?" she asked.

In unison all three of her children rolled their eyes. But Rusty spoke, exchanging a look with Ricky. "We do, mom."

"I hate to ruin the moment," Emily started, suddenly pushing herself up to her feet, "but it's getting late, so we should get going," she finished, looking over at Ricky.

"You don't have a car," Sharon said, having suddenly realized just that.

Rusty jingled his keys, theatrically handing them over to Ricky. "All settled," he told her.

...

"So," Andy started, slipping under the comforter into the bed, "Sharry?"

They had all turned in for the night shortly after Ricky and Emily left and after their nightly routine, which, with the number of people in the condo now, took place later than usually, they were finally getting settled into bed. As far as his question was concerned, Andy had been dying to ask it ever since he first heard it. He had never heard the nickname during her parents' calls. Actually, he had never heard her addressed with any variety of her name except the original, Sharon.

She half groaned, half sighed. "The only person allowed to call me that is my father," she informed him, joining him under the covers. "And I barely tolerate it even from him," she added.

"Well, I like it," he told her, rolling onto his side and propping himself up on an elbow.

She was lying flat on her back so she had to turn her head to look at him. She smiled but said rather sarcastically, "Of course you do."

He took her in for a moment. "You're happy," he told her finally. The sentence was an understatement, but still acurrate enough to capture the sentiment.

"I am," she confirmed even though his words were a clear observation rather than a question. "I haven't spent Christmas with them in," she sighed, "forever."

He leaned down, dropping a kiss to her cheek. "I'm happy for you," he told her.

She smiled and turned to her side, folding and arm underneath her head. She smiled at him, warmly, but went quiet for a few moments as she regarded him.

He quirked an eyebrow at her, finding her mood rather amusing. "Yes?" he asked carefully.

She propped herself up on her hand and scooted closer to him to press her lips to his. When she pulled away, she simply said, "You're forgiven."

He grinned at her, shaking his head ever so slightly. Of course, she'd address that particular part of their evening. "But I'm not sorry," he told her smugly.

She gave his cheek a quick caress with her other hand. "Doesn't matter," she muttered, flopping back onto her side again, closer to him this time.

He chuckled and started running his fingers gently up her side. "I love you," he told her, leaning down to capture her lips in another kiss.

When he started pulling away, she lifted a hand to his cheek again, not letting him pull back completely. "You know," she almost whispered, looking at him, their noses almost touching, "I have a surprise for you, too."

"Oh," he let out in a higher note. "You do?" he inquired before closing the distance between them once more.

She laughed but kissed him back just as eagerly. They broke apart only when he felt her hand pushing slightly against his chest. He gave her a confused look, untangling his fingers from her hair.

She smiled broadly. "Not that kind of surprise," she clarified.

"Oh," he let out in a lower note this time. "And what would that be?" he asked, genuinely curious now.

She smirked at him and quipped, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

He groaned. "Touche," he admitted.

"I know," she told him smugly, reaching out for him and pulling him down for a much more purposeful kiss this time.

 **TBC**

* * *

Nothing dramatic. Like I told you already, this story will be fluffy.

On another note, I would like to thank MajorCFan for the prompt. I would have thanked you in my first chapter, but I was trying to not spoil the story for you. XD

Anyways, I'll try posting the next chapter tomorrow, until then, do tell me what you thought of this one! Thanks for reading! :)


	4. Chapter 4 - Christmas Eve

When I started writing this chapter, the words just kept pouring out of me and before I knew what hit me, I was at 4k words. I considered splitting it into two parts, but I just couldn't decide where. Besides, I didn't wanna be rude either.

Again I have taken certain liberties with our characters, more precisely with Sharon's past.

Here you go, have fun! :)

* * *

 **Chapter 4 - Christmas Eve**

"Oh, mom," she mumbled sleepily.

"Andy," he corrected her, surprised by her sudden words.

They were in bed. Their alarm clocks had not gone off yet, but he had been awake for a few minutes, watching Sharon as she lay on her side, facing him, but still fast asleep. He had started playing with a strand of her tousled hair in the hopes of stirring her gently awake.

She smiled, "Don't you smell that?" she asked, opening her eyes.

Now that she mentioned it, he realized that a rather delicious scent was starting to permeate the air in their bedroom. "I was distracted," he told her smugly, leaning down to kiss her. "Good morning," he told her, pulling away to lean on his hand.

"Mom's making breakfast," she told him on a hum, sounding almost wistful. She followed him to kiss him again. When they pulled apart, she flopped back onto her pillow and smiled, saying, "Good morning."

"How do you know it's not Rusty?" he asked, sitting up to lean against the headboard. It wasn't unusual for him to prepare breakfast every now and then.

"Oh, it's mom," she assured him. "Trust me," she added, raising an eyebrow meaningfully as she sat up as well.

"So are you hungry?" he asked, grinning. Sharon seemed to be in an excellent mood again, one only brought about by her children's (and parents') visit, and he loved seeing her that way.

She kissed his cheek, and suddenly got to her feet, grabbing her silk robe. "Starving," she told him, already well on her way to their bedroom door.

He shook his head and scrambled to his own feet. By the time he caught up with her, now clad in his own robe, she was already moving around the kitchen with her mom. "You really shouldn't have, mom," he heard her say.

He slanted a look at the couch. Rusty was still, miraculously, softly snoring away.

"Morning," he said when the two women in the kitchen finally took notice of him.

"Good morning, Andy," Kate said, smiling broadly, waving a wooden spoon through the air.

"Where's dad?" Sharon asked, leaning against the counter in front of the sink, watching serenely as her mother moved around her kitchen.

"Bathroom," Kate replied, reaching for plates.

"Let me get those," Andy suddenly said, moving into the kitchen.

"Nonsense," both Sharon and Kate said, waving him off.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"I'll do it," Sharon told her mother more than him, taking over the chore. "You take the bathroom when dad comes out." This she did tell _him_.

"Coffee?" he aimed the question at Sharon.

"Yes," she nodded.

He bowed his head in agreement and went back toward the bedroom, just in time to see Bill coming out of the bathroom. "Good morning," he told him.

"Morning, Andy," Bill replied, smiling warmly at him.

He was about to walk back into Rusty's room, when a thought crossed Andy's mind. "Erm, Bill," he lowered his voice somewhat, "may I have a word with you?"

Bill looked at him in surprise, eyes going wide before narrowing slightly, as if gauging the request. "Sure," he finally nodded.

...

Breakfast tasted even more deliciously than it smelled. Soon after they woke Rusty up, Emily and Ricky had joined them, each of them carrying a rather large bag. Andy had briefly wondered what was in them, but Sharon had taken one look at them and waved a hand at their Christmas tree. Taking the hint, they had emptied the bags' contents underneath it, placing presents neatly on the floor, before sitting down to eat.

So now, after their wonderful morning, Andy and Sharon had to reluctantly bid them goodbye for the day since they still had a case to solve.

"Bye, mom," Sharon hugged her mother tightly.

When she hugged her father she said, "I really hope we'll b-"

"A-ah!" Andy raised a finger at her in warning. He was already at the door, holding it open for her.

Ricky and Emily shot him surprised looks and both of their grandparents raised their eyebrows at him. Sharon rolled her eyes and shook her head in amusement. "Don't mind him," she said, forgoing a proper explanation. "Bye, you two," she told her oldest children before turning around to walk out of the condo, past Andy.

"Come on, Rusty," Andy told him. Since he'd borrowed his car to Ricky and Emily he now needed a ride to the shopping mall. He had plans with Gus later so he would give him a ride back home.

"Bye," Andy told the rest of the bunch and followed Rusty out.

Rusty had waited for him, leaning against the wall next to the door, while Sharon had already made it to the elevator where she was pressing a button to call for it.

"It's done?" Rusty asked him in a hushed tone, as they started walking purposefully slowly toward Sharon.

"Yeah," Andy replied in an equal manner. "They texted me, you just have to pick it up." He waved a hand through the air, "With the case..."

"I know, don't worry," Rusty assured him before entering Sharon's earshot.

...

"I can't believe Santa did it!" Andy groaned, looking heavenward as Provenza and him walked out of the media room.

"Oh, I should've started a bet on it," Provenza mumbled, smirking at his partner.

"What are you talking about?" Andy shot at him. "You had the wrong Santa pegged for it!"

Provenza rounded his desk, pulling out his chair with a flourish. "I don't care. I said it was Santa, never said which one," he said, slumping into his chair.

Andy shook his head, walking past him toward his own desk. He scoffed, but offered no spoken retort. He knew better than to argue with the likes of one Louie Provenza.

They had finally wrapped up their case, by accident as it so often happened. Julio and Amy were picking up one of the Santas who had been working at the mall the day their victim was murdered for an interview downtown, when they came across a, as Santa disguised, man, who, upon recognizing them as cops, took off, running down several flights of stairs. Fortunately, Mike was at the mall as well, going over some additional security footage, and when Amy called it in, he greeted their fleeing Santa with the barrel of his gun at the bottom of the final flight of stairs. As it turned out, he had been a disgruntled ex-boyfriend who had, after a fight with the victim, lost his temper and killed her in a fit of rage.

"I've never arrested Santa before," Mike said in wonder, as he walked toward his desk after following the two senior Lieutenants.

"There's a first time for everything," Amy piped up, smiling. She had returned to the murder room as well.

"Alright, let's wrap it up, I'm sure we'd all like to get to our holiday plans," Sharon said, entering the murder room.

She and Julio had been the ones to interrogate their suspect. She left Julio behind in the interview room to finish taking their suspect's written confession. The poor man hadn't even waited for a deal to be offered and, guilt ridden and ignoring his court appointed attorney's counsel, had started spilling his guts almost the moment Sharon had introduced herself.

"Yes, Ma'am," Amy agreed, getting to her feet to start clearing the murder board. Her plans with Cooper had, due to the case, been delayed to later that evening, and even though it was barely 3pm she was still understandably eager to put the case behind her.

...

They had had a small Christmas celebration at work after finishing up with their paperwork, nothing too elaborate or long since all of them had plans for both that evening and the rest of the holidays. And since, fortunately, they managed to close their case more or less on time, no major plan adjustments or cancellations were necessary either. Porvenza had been in a particularly good mood because of that accomplishment.

So a few hours later, Sharon and Andy had finally arrived home and, after enjoying a family Christmas Eve dinner, courtesy of Kate and Emily, since Sharon's off day was, surprisingly not so surprisingly ruined, they were enjoying a rather quiet evening. Or as quiet an evening as it could be with a bickering quartet consisting of Emily, Ricky, Rusty and Gus. Gus had joined them earlier for dinner.

The four were sitting at the dining table heatedly discussing the best burger joints in LA and surprisingly, Gus was taking Ricky's side in the argument.

That allowed the more seasoned generation of the household to gather around the coffee table, Sharon and Kate sitting on the couch, and Andy and Bill in the orange chairs on either side of their respective partners.

Andy was now, despite the initial terror of a possible third degree, enjoying himself thoroughly. He was getting to know Sharon from a point of view only a parent could provide.

"To this day she can't stand them," Bill was in the middle of saying, smiling at Sharon.

"They are absolutely disgusting," Sharon told him, her hands flailing and a faux shudder going through her.

"So you are telling me," Andy started, leaning forward in his chair, addressing Kate, "that Captain," he made sure to highlight her title, "Sharon Raydor here," he patted her knee with a hand, "is afraid of spiders?"

Kate nodded, quite enthusiastically. "Terrified," she confirmed.

"But," Andy was laughing, but was also slightly puzzled as he spoke to Sharon now, "I've seen you kill them a million times so far."

"I've learned how to put on a brave face," she said, shrugging a shoulder.

Her parents had been in the middle of telling stories about Sharon's various encounters with spiders. From a young age, they had been witness to her rather intense irrational fear of those eight-legged creatures. Many had included screaming and running to her parents for safety, but it was the last story that had had Andy in fits.

One day, when Ricky had been in third grade he had come home carrying a closed glass jar with a rather large spider in it. That in and of itself had not been anything hilarious, however poor Sharon had not known about it, because her son, who had been (still is) well aware of her, as she called it, healthy distaste for spiders, had brought the thing into their home without her knowledge.

One morning, somewhere around the third day of the spider's successful life in hiding with Ricky in his room, he had had, as he called it, a stroke of genius. He had even managed to include Emily in his little scheme.

Sharon had been woken rather sweetly. Emily had woken her to a breakfast in bed with Ricky in tow. Jack had, by then, been more often gone than around and her children had taken to, subconsciously or not, showing her their affection much more often than children their age probably usually did, so she hadn't found the gesture surprising, despite being as touched as she had been the first time they had done something like that. On reflection, that had been a mistake. One ending in a fatality, too.

As she had finished breakfast and had been happily sipping on her coffee, one of her children on either side of her on the bed, Ricky presented his loosely clasped hands almost right under her nose. "And now for dessert," he had told her before lifting the top hand.

Sharon had already had a thank you on her lips when she took in the creature nestled on the boy's hand. Instead, a small scream left her lips and she leaped off her bed, startled to death, spilling her, thankfully by then lukewarm, coffee all over herself and her bed sheets. Her next step had been to slap her son's open palm, squeezing the poor, innocent creature to death, while her children roared with laughter.

"It was a rather comical prank, I think," Kate told him, ending the tale with a smile. She had not been present during it, but both Ricky and Emily had retold it more than once, and not only to their grandparents either.

Sharon, who had not found it funny one bit at the time, had to join her parents in their laughter this time. "I can see how I hadn't noticed him bring the beast home in the first place," she told Andy. She didn't like to admit it, but with Jack gone, her attention had been split rather thinly at the time. "But how I hadn't noticed him carry it into my bedroom is still beyond me."

"And you call yourself a detective, Captain," Andy retorted and shook his head in faux disappointment, making her parents chuckle.

"They were grounded for a month," Sharon added, purposefully ignoring his jibe.

"Most irrational parenting decision you've ever made, I assume?" he said on a laugh.

"Oh," she started seriously although the amusement was still more than obvious in her look, "there was nothing _ir_ rational about it."

"We have heard of no spider-related incidents since," Bill said, looking at his wife, who confirmed the statement with a nod of her head.

"The operative word being 'heard'," Ricky, who had heard the tail end of their conversation, suddenly chimed in.

The young man was gearing up to elaborate, but at the sight of his mother's warning look, he quickly returned his attention to his conversation with Emily, Gus and Rusty.

Sharon had a similarly silencing effect on Andy, who had started chuckling, but quickly sobered at the _challenging_ look she offered _him_.

...

They ended their evening with midnight mass, a tradition Sharon had inherited from her parents and had upheld whenever work permitted.

"You know, Sharon, I think this one's really good for you," Kate said when they left church.

Her daughter had wrapped her arms around one of hers and was almost snuggled into her shoulder. The kids and Gus had already left for the condo and the two were now walking behind Bill and Andy as they made their way to Andy's car.

Sharon lifted her head and gave her mother a surprised look. "Should that alarm me?" she asked her, only half joking.

When Sharon's parents had first met Jack, Kate had instantly taken a liking to him. She was almost as delighted with him as Sharon had been. And not surprisingly so, considering that he had been as much a charmer back then as he was today, and Sharon had to admit that he had been rather wonderful back then, too. It was the circumstances after their children were born which revealed that he wasn't as collected and strong as he had initially seemed to be, and those faults combined with Sharon's rather dominant personality and his addictions probably set them up for certain failure no matter how hard Sharon tried salvaging their marriage over the years.

Bill, on the other hand, had been wary of him from the very beginning. He had initially offered a disapproving opinion or two, but had ultimately chosen not to interfere. Although Sharon believed her mother had worked some of her magic on him or else he would have been much more vocal in expressing his qualms, she also knew that he had also trusted that, no matter how their relationship turned out in the end (and he had certainly not expected things to evolve the way they finally did), she would be able to deal with it as the responsible adult he and his wife had raised her to be.

When Sharon's issues with Jack started, and especially when things escalated to the point of legal separation, the situation had caused some friction between her parents, too. Not because they thought Sharon had done something wrong, (No matter how that relationship ended, she, or them, would never call it wrong; Emily and Ricky were living proof of that. Unfortunate was the word for it maybe.), but because they had both felt somewhat guilty. Kate for having been so blinded and Bill for not having been more insistent when he had had the chance. Understandably Sharon had some guilt to battle through herself and it had taken all three of them a long while to come to terms with the fallout of Sharon's marriage, their religion being a rather important issue in the matter as well, but looking back now, they realized that instead of pulling them apart the situation had probably brought them all closer together.

Kate snorted a laugh. "Oh, no, not at all." She gave Sharon a pointed look. "I know better now." She put her other hand on top of one of Sharon's entangled arms. "It's different this time," she said.

Sharon put her head back on her shoulder, looking at Andy's back in front of them. "It is," she confirmed with a smile.

"He keeps you on your toes," Kate told her, looking at the man in question as well. "Doesn't put up with your crap either," she added with a hint of a smile even though she meant the words.

Sharon laughed. "Same goes for me," she said, then lifted her head to give her mother an amused look. "On both accounts," she pointed out.

It was true. It had never been this way in her marriage. Compromise was a foreign term at the time. And both Sharon and Jack were at fault with that. It was either simple giving in, ignoring or arguing. Even attempts at healthy challenge often deteriorated into fights and misunderstanding. Simply put, they lacked in communication. And even though there were many things Sharon now felt she could always count on having with Andy, communication most certainly made that list as well. What she was also _painfully_ aware of was, that it had taken her a failed marriage and almost a lifetime of lessons to learn to recognize just how fundamental those things were in a relationship.

"I haven't heard you laugh this much in years," Kate said.

"I laugh all the time," Sharon argued, a frown crossing her features briefly.

"Your children do not count," Kate told her curtly.

Sharon let out a thoughtful hum. "You're right," she admitted, a note of wonder in her voice as if not having been aware of that little difference until just then.

"I only have one question," her mother told her, suddenly coming to a stop. They were rather close to the car now. "Although I think I can guess the answer," she added.

Sharon untangled her arms, stopping as well, and looked at her. "And that would be?" she inquired.

Her mother grabbed ahold of one of her hands and clasped it in between hers. "Does he make you happy?" she asked, giving Sharon a long, searching look.

Sharon briefly looked at Andy again, before meeting her mother's gaze. "Incredibly happy," she confirmed, not a hint of hesitation in her voice. And if anything, the smile that made its way onto her face also showed just _how_ incredibly happy he made her.

Kate unclasped her hands but kept hold of Sharon's with one of them and tugged on it. When Sharon readily let her pull her into a hug, she whispered softly against her ear, "Good." When she pulled away, she kissed her cheek and added, "You make him happy, too."

Sharon gave her a surprised look, but before she could ask for an elaboration on that final sentence, her father's voice carried over to them, interrupting them. "We're getting old here!" it said.

...

"You know," Andy started, an unusually high note in his tone of voice, as they had finally settled into bed after getting home, "some of these stories I heard today..." he shook his head, not really giving his sentence an end before continuing with a new one, "I wish I had known them years ago."

She looked at him in surprise. He was lying flat on his back, whereas she was propped up on an elbow, facing him sideways. "Would you have believed them back then?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

He turned his head to meet her look. "I guess not," he admitted, sounding almost apologetic.

While she never held his (or the rest of the team's, for that matter) attitude towards her, back when she was in Internal Affairs, against them, he had felt somewhat guilty about it, having now found out just how wonderful and loving a person she really was. When he had once admitted to feeling that way, she had more or less brushed it all off. And even though she had said, and meant it, too, that she hadn't liked him very much back then either, he sometimes wished he could offer her more than an apology.

As if reading his mind she suddenly flatly told him, "Stop it." She scooted closer to him and leaned down to kiss the corner of his mouth. "You love me now," she said happily.

"I most certainly do," he confirmed, stretching an arm out to pull her even closer. "More than you know," he added, dropping a kiss into her hair, as she settled her head on his shoulder.

It had been her who had first said those three little, yet, oh so important words. After his blood clot incident, he had somehow never gotten around to telling her. To this day, he hadn't shown her his letter either. He was loathe to admit that, despite feeling it only too strongly, he had still chickened out from telling her, no matter how often the thought crossed his mind. And it had certainly crossed it often.

It was when he had first broached the subject of moving in together. Looking back, it was funny how it was easier to start _that_ conversation than it was to express a feeling he deep down knew she felt, too. It was during dinner, the one prior to which she had promised to finally discuss moving in together for real. She had started their discussion with a fragmented sentence (he remembered it only too well): "I want this, I love you, I do, and we _will_ move in together, however..."

He had barely registered the end of her rather lengthy sentence, maybe it had even turned into several sentences, and they had certainly discussed her _however_ s over the rest of their dinner, but when she had said whatever else she had had to say, his first response had been, "I love you, too."

She had frowned at his words, confused as to how exactly they were relevant to everything else she had said. He had actually needed to quote her word for word. He had had to point out that she had never said the words before either and only then had the significance of the exchange dawned on her.

That fact alone, the fact that her voiced sentiment had by then been seemingly rooted so deeply within her that she took it as a given that he felt the same, had made his heart swell even more with love than the fact that they had _finally_ said those words to each other in the first place. After that, he couldn't for the life of him figure out why he had never told her right after he got out of surgery.

Now that he thought about, he couldn't understand why he still hadn't shown her the letter either. Especially considering what he intended to gift her in the morning.

"Me, too," her words startled him out of his flashback. She wrapped an arm around him, settling her hand over his hip, "I love you, too," she told him softly.

He would reconsider that letter of his, he decided.

 **TBC**

* * *

What do you think, huh? What do you think? Please, do tell!


	5. Chapter 5 - Merry Christmas

Apparently I don't know how to keep this short. I also think it's safe to assume there will be more than 6 chapters.

To the guest saying this story is unreadable, feel free to stop reading then because I apparently don't know how to stop writing it. XD

To the rest of you, enjoy! And please don't hate me when you reach the end. ;)

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - Merry Christmas**

On Christmas morning, it was a knock on their bedroom door that woke them up. The knock was immediately followed by a muffled voice.

"Are you decent?" the voice asked.

Both Sharon and Andy groaned. At the same time Sharon said "Yes." while Andy retorted "No."

When she playfully slapped his chest, he quickly amended the word to "I mean, yes."

There was nothing indecent about them. They were in their sleepwear and Sharon was snuggled into Andy's arm as he was lying on his back, and was in the middle of untangling their legs, when Ricky, theatrically, cracked the door open to squeeze his head through the opening, hands splayed firmly over his eyes. He moved two fingers apart, enough to brave a look at them with one eye, and was about to speak, when Sharon spoke first, surprise evident in her voice.

"Ricky, what are you doing here already?" Suddenly she seemed wide awake.

Ricky let himself completely inside, finally dropping his act. "It's Christmas," he said eagerly.

"What time is it?" Andy asked on a groan, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Er," suddenly, Ricky's eagerness abated somewhat, "6:30." His voice went up as if he was posing a question.

Sharon naturally read something into it and said, warning in her voice this time, "Ricky?"

"Okay," he slumped his shoulders. "It's 6 am," he admitted.

"Have you even slept at all?" Sharon asked, pushing herself up now to sit against their bed's headboard.

"We have," he shrugged again, "but we kind of crashed here for the night."

"What?" Andy asked, sitting up as well, "How?" he looked genuinely surprised. "Why?" he added.

Andy, Sharon and her parents had turned in almost immediately after returning from Church last night (technically, it was already morning) and had stayed up long enough to see Gus leave but not to see when Emily and Ricky left. However, it was assumed that they would return to their hotel room for the rest of the night.

Ricky decided to answer only Andy's last question. "Because it's Christmas."

He sounded an awful lot like a child pouting, and it sent Sharon into a quiet laughter. Andy was only awake enough to manage an eye roll.

"Can you give us another half hour?" Sharon asked, coming down from her laughter.

"Yes, please," Andy said. "Remember, we're old? We tire easily these days." He didn't bother hiding his smirk.

Sharon snorted and her son gave them both a bland look. "Fine," he relented. "But if you're not up by then, we're starting without you," he warned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Now that _that_ 's over," Sharon said, pulling her legs underneath herself and sitting down on her calves, turning to look at Andy.

She put her hands on his cheeks, effectively grabbing ahold of his face, and pulled him in for a kiss.

Andy's initial reaction was to smile against her lips at her sudden change of pace, but after a second he only too eagerly latched onto her lips, moving a hand to her face, his thumb tracing a random pattern in front of her ear, his other fingers finding a way into the soft strands of her sleep-tousled hair.

By the time they pulled apart, taking a break from their impromptu make-out session, she was straddling him, resting her forehead against his, her palms still secured on each of his cheeks.

"Merry Christmas, Andy," she told him on a whisper.

He smiled again, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "Merry Christmas, Sharon," he said hoarsely, lifting his head only long enough to place a kiss on the tip of her nose. When she smiled at the gesture, he did it again.

"You know," he started, when after a few moments she made no attempt of moving away. If anything, she snuggled even closer into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, resting her head in the crook of his neck now, "not that I am not enjoying this," he grinned, "and believe me, I am," he gave her sides a gentle tickle of his fingers, "but unless you get up, I have no intention of stopping once I continue with this," he told her, starting to pepper her neck with kisses.

She straightened up, only enough so she could give him a look, hands now loosely folded behind his neck. She regarded him for a moment, and when he quirked an eyebrow at her, she audibly sighed. "You're right."

"Now?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "Now you choose to admit to that?"

She laughed at him and kissed him once more before replying. "If we're not out of here by 6:30, he'll come back looking for us." She kissed him again. "All three of them," she pointed out.

He nuzzled her cheek and hair that covered it and started on a downward path of kisses. "Well," he started in between them, "they can look all they want," he reached her jaw, "but if I lock the door," he smiled when she arched her neck, inviting him in for more, "both doors," he added, reaching her collarbone as he moved down her neck, "they won't find us," he concluded, looking up now to drop a kiss to her lips.

She laughed, but kissed him back. When he suddenly pulled back, obviously ending the kiss sooner than she would have liked because she let out a surprised hum when he did, he grinned and added, "They may hear you though," he wiggled an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, you're terrible," she interrupted him before he could come up with something worse, slapping his shoulder lightly, almost giggling.

"Oh, am I?" He suddenly put one hand on each of her shoulders, only slightly pushing her away, just enough so he could eye her purposefully. "And how would you describe yourself, my dear?" he asked waving a hand at her form that was still straddling him.

She leaned forward, giving him a dangerous smirk, and when he could feel her hot breath against his ear, she said, in an intimately low timbre, "Enticing."

And with that she abruptly got off of him and to her feet.

He groaned and shook his head. "You'll be the death of me, you know that, right?" he asked, shaking a finger at her.

She leaned down to kiss his cheek. "Oh, no, I plan on keeping you around a while longer," she assured him, trudging down into the adjoining bathroom.

"That woman," he thought, grimacing when he suddenly remembered another woman who liked to refer to her that way.

...

While Sharon was in the bathroom Andy had left their bedroom to deposit his gifts under the tree and on his way he found out exactly how Ricky and Emily had spent the night.

Behind and next to the couch there were a number of pillows and a couple of blankets thrown around on the floor.

He found Emily sprawled on her back among one set of the pillows. "You had better clean that up before your mother comes out," he told her, a smile curling his lips. "A mess on Christmas morning?" he feigned a shudder.

She yawned and laughed at the same time, but hummed in agreement before mumbling, "Morning, Merry Christmas, Andy."

Andy offered her a "Merry Christmas" in return and walked past her, making his stop at the tree before proceeding into the kitchen.

There he found Rusty and Ricky busy making what he hoped was coffee.

"That better be coffee," he grumbled, making sure he sounded more cranky than he actually was.

"Merry Christmas to you, too," Rusty turned around, rolling his eyes.

"Coffee," Andy repeated.

Ricky slid a mug across the counter. It almost expertly came to a stop in front of Andy. When Andy wrapped his hands around it, he offered Ricky a grin, but told the both of them, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Ricky said, turning around to fill more mugs with coffee. "Is mom up?" he asked.

"Bathroom," Andy answered, taking a sip of his procured, black liquid.

A moment later Emily joined him at the counter. "Did you wake up grandma and grandpa?" she asked Ricky.

"Uh," he dropped a cup of coffee in front of her, "not yet."

"I just did," Sharon's voice suddenly reached them and a moment later she turned the corner, approaching the counter.

She walked past Andy, sliding a hand gently down his back, as she dropped a kiss to Emily's cheek. "Merry Christmas," she told her.

"Merry Christmas, mom," Emily replied dropping a kiss to her mother's cheek before she could slip away to move into the kitchen.

"Bathroom's yours," she told Andy on her way to Rusty and Ricky.

"Off I go," Andy said and got to his feet.

"Merry Christmas," Sharon told Rusty and Ricky, stopping to stand between them.

"Merry Christmas," they both replied. Ricky gave her a kiss on the cheek, while Rusty offered her some coffee.

"Oh," she clasped her hands together, the accepted coffee cup now precariously dangling from one of them as she barely held on to it, having only just slipped her fingers through and around the cup's handle, "I am so happy to have you all here!" She turned to press a kiss to Rusty's cheek now.

When she turned around her parents were walking in. "And mom and dad, too!" she added, when her eyes landed on them. "Merry Christmas!" she told them, depositing her cup on the counter before rounding it to pull her parents into a hug.

"Merry Christmas, Sharry," her father mumbled into her hair.

"How long has it been," Kate started, running a hand down her daughter's arm in a gentle caress, "since we last spent Christmas together?"

"6-7 years?" Bill tried.

"Too long," Sharon said.

"Mom," Ricky walked up to her and put his hands on top of her shoulders, "are you getting sentimental in your old age?" He let go of her shoulders and took a few steps back the moment the words left his lips.

"Oh, shush you," she turned around to pin all three of her, now snickering, children with a look. "As if you never miss me," she told them, reaching for her mother's arm as she spoke. They only continued their snickering at her.

"You want some coffee?" Sharon asked Kate, directing her entire attention to her now. "Ricky would _love_ to make you a fresh batch," she added pointedly.

When she heard his muttered, "Should've seen that coming," she exchanged a triumphant look with her mother.

...

Emily had, despite getting up before them, let her grandparents use the bathroom before her, and when it was finally her turn she abruptly came to a stop after barely passing the couch on her way there.

She turned on her heel and started walking back to the kitchen as she said, "Er, mom?"

Sharon, who had by then sat down on one of the stools next to her counter, turned around and answered, "Yes, Emily?"

Emily looked down her clothes and waved a hand at them. "Uh, we really didn't think this sleepover through," she said.

"Oh," Sharon let out and slipped of her stool. "Come on, let's find you something to wear," she told her, grabbing her daughter's hand as she already started for the bedroom.

They had to improvise pajamas the previous nights, since their formal clothes they wore to church weren't exactly appropriate sleepwear. Emily had slept in some of Rusty's clothes, an old t-shirt and sweatpants. Ricky, unfortunately did not exactly fit into any of his clothes and had spent the night in his undershirt and boxers. When he got up he put on his suit's pants and slipped on his dress shirt over his undershirt, leaving it unbuttoned. They would both have to stop by the hotel after breakfast but for now they would manage.

When they stepped inside the bedroom, Sharon waved a hand at her daughter and told her, "Go fish."

She would have went in search for something herself but she realized that in her hurry to get to her children earlier she hadn't even noticed that the bed wasn't made. Usually both her and Andy were much more neater in that regard, but she figured that it slipped even his mind as his brain needed a caffeinated jump start after their rather short sleep and early morning.

She was in the middle of fluffing out the pillows when she heard her daughter's surprised, "Wow!"

A moment later she reapeared from the closet, some of Sharon's clothes draped over her shoulder and two coat hangers dangling from a finger of each of her hands. "That's a lot of ties," she eyed the other hanger before adding, "and suspenders."

Sharon snorted a laugh. By the look on Emily's face, it seemed she considered the cluster of items to be rather unhealthy in number. "He has a collection of vests, too," she told her. "Although he wears those less frequently," she added, now busy straightening the top comforter on her bed.

"You guys need a bigger closet," Emily said eyeing the hangers in amusement as she took a few step forwards to flop down on the ottoman at the foot of the bed.

Sharon slid a hand across the top of her covers, smoothing out any last creases, and made her way to Emily. "Among other things," she told her, sitting down next to her.

"Still no luck on the house?" Emily asked.

Sharon gave a non-committal hum, and quirked first one then her other eyebrow.

Emily gave her a confused look, and for a moment it looked like she would ask "What's that about?" but instead she gave voice to an other observation of hers. "You've loosened up," she told her mother.

Sharon gave her a puzzled look. "I've done what?" she asked.

But Emily ignored the question and went on with her train of thought. "You're still _mom_ ," she said, rolling her eyes, "but you're also different." When Sharon frowned, she added on a smile, "Good different, mom!"

Sharon wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulder and drew her into a sideways hug. When Emily wrapped an arm of her own around her, she dropped a kiss into her hair before lifting her chin and resting it on top of it. "Oh, I've missed you," Sharon told her on a happy sigh. "Coming to LA still not an option for you?" she asked jokingly, but there was a note of hope to the words as well.

"I'm being serious, mom," Emily told her, rolling her eyes as she untangled herself of her mother's hold even though she was smiling as well. It was a miracle the two coat hangers were still safely in her lap.

"And I am not?" Sharon retorted dryly.

Emily nudged her mother's shoulder. "I like Andy," she told her instead.

And she really did. She had liked him before he started dating her mother, and truthfully she had been slightly wary of him when he did, having known him only barely in his capacity as her mother's work colleague, but she quickly realized she did not have much reason to be. And the holidays so far only served to reassure her of that some more.

"Good, I do, too," Sharon told her on a smile, but followed it with a rather pointed look. While she could appreciate her children's input on the matter they knew that ultimately it was her life, her choice and she liked to remind them of that every once in a while even if their input was as positive as this one, which in turn did make her just a tad happier.

Emily shook her head at her look. "I like seeing you this happy, too," she informed her mother.

Sharon hugged her again, "I am happy," she confirmed, giving her a tight squeeze.

"That's not what I meant," Emily said when Sharon let go of her. This time she gave her mother a pointed look.

"I know," Sharon told her seriously, taking ahold of one of her daughter's hands and starting to draw random patterns on top of it with her thumb. "I _am_ happy though," she repeated, shrugging a shoulder.

Emily laughed and was about to say something else when a knock on the door startled them. The knock was quickly followed by the door cracking slightly open before either one of them could say anything, and by a head peeking in through the crack.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" Andy asked.

Emily shook her head. "No, come in," she told him.

When he came inside and closed the door behind him, he noticed Emily's lap. He gave her a curious look, but Emily just shrugged, getting up to her feet. "I like your style," she told him simply, already busying herself with putting the hangers away again.

Andy's eyebrows shot up and he directed a questioning look at Sharon. She shrugged, too, and simply said, "She does."

Andy gave her an appraising look and narrowed his eyes slightly. He walked toward the bed and when he spoke, he had obviously decided to switch gears. "You know, you could've told me you two were taking a time out. I could have taken a nap, too," he told her before unceremoniously flopping onto their bed.

Sharon laughed precisely when Emily returned from the closet. She took a look at Andy's sprawled out form, then quirked an eyebrow at her mother.

"He wants a nap," Sharon explained, smiling now.

Emily huffed and started walking past the bed and toward the bathroom. "Well, you have 5 minutes," she told Andy. "But if you're not up by then, I am not to be held accountable for Ricky's actions," she added, before closing the door behind her.

When Sharon snorted a laugh, Andy mumbled something into his pillow. He realized his words were indiscernible and lifted his head. "I think I like her best," he informed Sharon.

Sharon shook her head at him. "Get up," she told him, tickling his foot as she stood up.

"5 minutes," Andy protested, burying his head into the pillow again.

"Now," Sharon said.

He groaned but finally got up. "I stand corrected," he told her, following her out of the bedroom. "I _know_ I like her best," he said, smirking at her.

"That's okay," she told him smoothly. "I like her, too."

"You play favorites?" Andy asked, surprised, ignoring the surprised looks of the rest of their current household at his question.

"Did I say that?" she countered, offering him a mischievous smile as she made her way to the couch.

He followed her, but gave her a puzzled look. That wasn't exactly a no.

...

When Emily returned from the bathroom, clad in a pair of her mother's old jeans and an orange cardigan, she found everyone already sitting comfortably in the living room.

She sat down next to her mother on the couch. She leaned against the right armrest and pulled her knees up before tucking her toes underneath Sharon's thighs. Sharon smiled and put a hand around her daughter's ankles. She was tucked into Andy's side, who had an arm wrapped around her shoulders and was leaning against the left armrest.

Ricky had dragged a chair to the back of the couch and straddled it, chin resting on his hands that were folded on top of the chair's backrest, practically peeking between Sharon and Emily.

Sharon's parents had taken up residence in the orange chairs, sitting opposite of one another, and after slanting a look at Emily and Ricky's positions, Kate gave her daughter a knowing look. Sharon was clearly not the only one who had missed her mother, apparently.

Rusty reached for one of the presents, and gave it quickly to Sharon, before taking the least comfortable spot, one on the floor next to Bill's chair, but close to the Christmas tree so he could hand the rest of the presents out.

"That one's from me," he told Sharon.

She quirked up a curious eyebrow and lifted the lid of the little blue box he had handed her. When she took the gift out, a warm smile spread over her features. She turned it around, carefully inspecting it, and her smile only widened when she turned it upside down. "Thank you, Rusty," Sharon told him in a thick voice, giving him one of those intense looks that used to make him squirm.

This time he just shrugged and got to his feet. He maneuvered toward her and pulled her into a hug. He heard her mumble, "I love you," and he instantly said, "Me, too." When they let go of each other, he admitted, "I had some help."

"Gus?" Sharon tried.

Rusty shook his head and, when he returned to his spot on the floor, looked at Andy in answer. She followed his gaze but other than letting out a slightly surprised hum, she said nothing, and only nodded instead.

With him approaching law school and even toying with the idea of moving out sooner rather than later as he had originally thought, Rusty wanted to gift her a memento this time.

Andy had found him one evening in the living room, surfing the net, scrolling through pages of various chess sets. When he had casually asked, "Looking to update your board?" he had shaken his head and said, "Nah, Christmas shopping." And before either one of them knew what or how it happened he had told Andy who the present was for and what he wanted it to mean. It was Andy's suggestion that he had the gift hand made and he even recommended a guy he knew could do the job well.

That's how he ended up giving Sharon a white chess piece, the one of the queen. It was made of magnolia wood. He had read somewhere that magnolias symbolized things held dearly in one's heart, and he found it rather befitting of Sharon. The design wasn't an elaborate one, the bottom part was painted white, a faint checkered pattern on the body, and the crown, decorated with six small wooden globes, was painted in a dark brown color, just a tint of red to it, too. Into the bottom of the piece he had had words carved. It were words that at first glance were nothing special but between them he felt they meant everything. They said, "You are my mom." And judging by her reaction, his feeling was right.

...

Rusty's gift had started the present opening season for the morning and within minutes they were sitting in a mess of crumbled, torn, colorful wrapping paper, which, if one knew Sharon Raydor at all, was a rather unusual occurrence even if it was a somewhat necessary by-product of Christmas gift unwrapping. But she didn't mind, neither of them did, not when they were otherwise occupied with exchanging happy laughs, thanks, hugs and kisses, too.

The rest of the presents included a framed photo of Emily, Ricky and Rusty from Emily and Ricky (their mother had mentioned that she regretted not having a picture of them all together often enough so that they successfully took her hint), a fine bottle of white wine from her parents, some ties for Andy and Rusty (he would need those as a budding lawyer), a few angels for Sharon's children (you can never have too many of those), and promises of a visit (as soon as possible) for her parents (due to their unexpected visit, they had missed the presents Sharon had sent them in the mail).

Most of them were still busy unwrapping some of the final gifts when Andy addressed Rusty, "You know which one," he told him.

And Rusty did seem to know which one. He reached for another gift underneath the tree and slid it across the coffee table over to Andy.

He caught it just in time before it could topple over and fall down on the floor and turned to face Sharon. "This one's from me," he told her, placing the gift into one of her hands.

 **TBC**

* * *

*evil laugh*

I might post my next chapter on Christmas Day (in the evening or so), depending on how crazy a day I have. If not, I promise it will be up on Monday the latest!

Until then... Merry Christmas everybody! Happy holidays! I hope you all have a wonderful time! :)


	6. Chapter 6 - A Promise

At the end of this chapter there is a part that I think will be funnier and more understandable if you take a look at Chapter 16 of my As Easy as ABC story, so I suggest you give that a read first.

But whether you do or not, I still hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Even if it is over the top a bit. I just couldn't control myself.

* * *

 **Chapter 6 - A Promise**

Andy's gift to Sharon was inside a neat little box, wrapped in light green paper, a pattern of Christmas trees on it, with a bow on its lid in a darker shade of green.

When Sharon undid the bow and lifted the lid, a soft gasp escaped her. Emily had sat up properly, her feet on the floor now, and Sharon had pushed off Andy to sit more comfortably in the middle of the couch. He had taken on to patiently watching her, an arm draped over the back of the couch as he sat to face her sideways.

She reached for the gift, only to pull out an even smaller box, a black velvet one. She ran her fingers over the top of it and gave Andy a warm, but nervous smile. Or as nervous a smile one could even imagine on Sharon Raydor.

"Don't worry," he told her, not needing to tell her what about. He urged her on, "Go ahead, open it." He waved a hand at her in a circular motion.

She tentatively opened it. When she reached inside, her fingers returned clasping a rather worn piece of yellow paper, folded at least 5 times so it could even fit inside the box.

"What's this?" she asked giving him a quick look, already busying herself with unfolding the sheet of paper.

Andy shrugged. "Just something I should have given you months ago."

They sat in silence for a moment, letting her read through the paper. When she started tearing up, Rusty and Ricky exchanged looks, as did Bill and Kate over the coffee table.

It was Emily who disturbed the silence when Sharon's hand clasped over her mouth and she couldn't help but ask worriedly, "You okay, mom?"

Sharon swallowed and blindly reached out for her daughter's hand, squeezing it in reassurance while lifting her head to face Andy.

Her voice was thick with emotion when she addressed him. "You wrote this before the surgery." It wasn't a question.

The arm he had draped over the back of the couch sneaked its way up until his hand reached the back of her neck where he lifted her hair to offer it a gentle caress. He shrugged again. "Just in case," he explained.

The rest of the room exchanged curious looks, having no clue what they were talking about, but Andy and Sharon had only eyes for each other at the moment and were therefore, not exactly forthcoming with an explanation either.

"I wanted to tell you," she started, letting go of Emily's hand to seek out his, the one that was resting on top of his thigh. "I don't know why I didn't," she said, looking down as she entwined their fingers together. "I should have, at least after your surgery," she added, looking up again and shaking her head, almost as if scolding herself for not having done it.

"Doesn't matter," Andy brushed it off.

"I've long ago stopped appreciating handwritten letters," Sharon suddenly said. She didn't need to look at them to know that a sad shadow passed Emily's, Ricky's and her parents' features. They could at least guess, even if they didn't exactly know how many of Jack's she had read or torn apart over the previous two decades.

But when she saw how Andy's jaw clenched ever so slightly, she knew he, too, could guess. "Maybe this one changes your mind," he tried, cocking his head to the side and lifting his eyebrows briefly.

"Not maybe," she told him, leaning toward him. "Definitely," she corrected before closing the distance and kissing him. "Why now though?" Sharon asked when she pulled away, keeping the kiss almost chaste, their present company at the back of her mind.

He tilted his head at the box in her lap. "Because there's more in that box for you," he told her with a crooked smile.

Having only last night made the decision to finally give her the letter, he had to improvise quickly this morning to not only make it fit into the box but to also not reveal the rest of its contents once she took it out.

She laughed when she saw what was underneath the letter. She pulled out two cut up pieces of hard white paper. On both she could make out pieces of 'Lt. Andrew Flynn' and even the LAPD logo. He had used his work business card to cover up the rest of his gift.

Andy rubbed a spot above his eyebrow, smiling almost shyly. "It was a last minute gift adjustment," he explained. "I had to improvise."

Sharon laughed and then showed the card to the rest of the room, taking pity on their being so out of the loop. When they realized what it was, they joined in her laughter.

"Andy," Emily asked, trying valiantly to keep her voice steady despite her laughter wanting to shake it, "why not put it on _top_ of the box?"

Andy frowned as he processed her question and when he finally let out an enlightening, "Oh," another fit of laughter rippled through the room.

The laughter almost instantly stopped when Sharon pulled out the final piece of the gift. And, if a thousand thoughts were not going through her mind at the moment, perhaps she wouldn't have missed the knowing looks passing between her parents, or Rusty's smirk. Emily and Ricky quirked knowing eyebrows at one another, too.

It was a ring. Only the ring was eerily familiar, and when Sharon took it in, not noticing the slight differences, she instantly sought out Andy's right hand that was still busy tracing random patterns over her neck. Her eyebrows went up when, holding his wrist, she inspected his pinky.

"I thought about giving you this one," Andy explained, smiling and wiggling his pinky finger. "But you'd have noticed it missing."

"And you wouldn't have believed he simply lost it," Rusty suddenly chipped in, making Sharon's head snap around to look at him in surprise.

"You knew about this?" she asked, waving the ring through the air.

"We all knew, Sharry," her dad offered.

Her eyes widened and even slight creases appeared on her forehead. She swept a look over the remaining faces in her living room, all smiling knowingly at her, before finally settling on Andy's again.

Andy offered her unvoiced question an answer. "You know how work is, and it was kind of a last minute decision, so I asked the kid to help." He slanted Rusty a look and added on an amused smile, "Needed a gofer."

Rusty just rolled his eyes.

"I helped with the ring size," Emily added, wiggling her fingers. "Our hands are almost the same, mom," she explained unnecessarily.

"Yeah, there are like," Rusty pulled a face, "ring sizes, in numbers, depending on length or something." It had obviously been quite a revelation to him.

"I didn't do a thing," Ricky quipped. When his mother looked at him, he simply shrugged. "I was just being nosy."

Sharon shook her head at him, smiling in amusement, then raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her father. He eyed Andy, but looked at Kate when he responded, "The two of us had a little chat."

Andy chuckled and it made Sharon look at him in surprise. "Well, we did," he said defensively, even though he was grinning.

She shook her head and, after letting go of Andy's hand, took a look at the ring. The ring was almost identical to Andy's sobriety ring. Only the gold band was slightly thinner, more feminine, and the ring was resized to fit her own pinky.

"Take a look on the inside," Andy instructed her.

She tilted the ring slightly until she could make out two single words written out in an elegant cursive.

"I promise," Sharon read in a whisper, looking up at Andy again.

Originally, Andy had considered not having it engraved at all. Or using something like "I love you" or "Till death do us part", and although both statements rang true in both his mind and heart, it had not been what he meant for the ring to convey.

He had settled on "I promise" because, as juvenile as it may have sounded, for all intents and purposes that was what the ring was, a promise ring, a symbol of the promise he wanted to make her.

They had once briefly touched on the topic of marriage, back when they agreed on moving in together, and she had said that getting married was not something she was planning on ever doing again. Especially not when she was still, in the eyes of the Church, married to her legally divorced husband. She had also argued that she did not need a piece of paper to bind herself to him and, although by then they had become each other's medical proxies, he trusted her when she said that.

He did not doubt her commitment to him, and he wouldn't even if they had taken _no_ legal steps, but truthfully, he was a bit puzzled as to how she could agree to practically live with him in sin while taking issue with not being able to marry him in front of God. He had initially thought that, for someone who didn't like slicing things thin, she was doing exactly that.

But then again, they looked at those things differently, so when he tried to look at it from her point of view, he could see how court marriage simply did not live up to a Catholic union. He could also see how she gave marriage in general a kind of gravity bigger than that of any other commitment. And she would not approach something with such gravity, for lack of a better word, _half-heartedly,_ when she could not couple it with what carried gravity most, the Catholic sacrament. Even _if_ she would be more than willing to approach everything else, (that did not need God's blessing), agreeing to buy a house together being a prime example of just that.

He simply had to accept that of all things she could reconcile with her faith, this one she couldn't, this one she didn't know how to. But he also suspected that she had perhaps lost a bit of faith in marriage, too. Not to the point where she no longer liked weddings or would discourage others from it, but to the point where she perhaps believed it no longer fit _her_. Not after the rather unspectacular end her previous marriage had met.

So while he didn't completely understand, he respected her opinion on the matter. Besides, ultimately, he did not need to marry her to bind himself to her either. He felt he had done so a long time ago and would remain bound to her with or without a marriage certificate.

But that hadn't stopped him from always wanting to make some kind of gesture, whether she ever changed her opinon or not. Even more so after his heart attack. And admittedly, he did want to _mark_ her somehow, too. It was probably a caveman way of thinking, and he doubted Sharon would much appreciate that particular part of his reasoning, but it was true. He wanted a visible, and yes, material, reminder of what they were to one another. So he settled on this.

Besides, after the year they'd had, he wanted to provide them both with a ray of sunshine in all that darkness that had been following them around lately.

Between Taylor's death, Sharon's personal fallout over the shooting, his heart attack and the current stress over filling Taylor's still only temporarily filled position, things had remained rather tense, both professionally and personally.

Whoever ended up filling Taylor's shoes (and Sharon had been clear about wanting to remain where she was) might want to do some restructuring to their division, in particularly in regards to its more seasoned members. It was a reality that certainly weighed heavily on all of their minds and would continue to do so until the situation was finally resolved, _somehow_.

And what weighed on his mind, too, was that Sharon was still reeling from his most recent health scare. She worried, more than was necessary, (this was an objective opinion considering his latest check-ups), and he hated being the source of her worries once again, even more so, taking into account what else she had on her plate.

So by doing this, and in the most official way (besides marriage) he knew how, which was in front of her family, he wanted to stress that he was still there, that there was no reason to let worry swallow her up. She was strong, stronger than him, and he was not trying to take her place in her current battles. That was not it, and not just because he knew she would not appreciate _that at all_. He merely wanted her to know that, should she continue to worry, he would then worry with her, and that during her battles he would always support her. What he wanted was really quite simple.

He wanted to be _with_ her.

Andy reached for her hand, and took the ring from her while clasping her hand in his. "Yes, I promise," he repeated.

She made an attempt to speak but when he squeezed her hand, she understood and gave in to his silent plea, letting him go on.

"I know how you feel about marriage," he said because he wanted to reassure her first. There was no accusation in his voice, only understanding and acceptance, but when she smiled a watery smile, he couldn't tell if it was in gratitude or maybe even regret.

"However I wanted to make you a promise anyway," He took a breath and squeezed her hand again. "A promise to stand by you for the rest of my life. No matter what life throws at us," he slanted a look at Rusty, "be it a blood clot or," he slanted Ricky a look now, "even a heart attack." Mentioning letter writers, rapists, killers, that went without saying. Sharon had to smile mirthfully when her sons just grinned at Andy.

"I can't promise to stay around forever," he said, smiling warmly, even though a hint of sadness entered his voice, and this time she squeezed his hand, "but I can promise to love you for as long as I'm here," he shrugged. He lifted the ring, "As long as you'll let me."

He wasn't lying when he said he'd considered giving her his sobriety ring. Provenza would probably call him a sentimental fool, but he wanted to make a promise to stay sober for her, too. Yes, he knew that, first and foremost, he had to stay sober for himself and that any other incentives or reasons, as important as he felt they were, realistically, were secondary. None of them would have even come up if he hadn't learned to accept that sobriety was something he needed to do primarily for himself, even if he worked on it for others as well now.

So when he considered giving up that ring, it would not have symbolized rearranging his priorities or substituting one addiction for another, because yes, simply put, he was addicted to Sharon, but it would have been a promise to be hers, to add her to the list of his most important priorities, while hoping that she would choose to trust him to keep it despite his faults, despite that one huge fault, that had cost him so much once already. And what was more, it was a promise to trust that she would want to cherish him just as much as he wanted to cherish her.

She stayed quiet for a moment, but Andy decided to not disturb her, since she clearly seemed to be considering something. He ignored the curious looks exchanged between the rest of their current household.

"Andy, I would have said yes," Sharon finally told him quietly but still loudly enough to draw surprised looks from their company as they realized what she meant.

Andy, however, frowned, not at all understanding her sentence or how it related to his little monologue. He replaced his frown with a puzzled look, raising his eyebrows, asking for an explanation.

Sharon actually laughed. When she spoke again, growing serious now, there was confidence in both her voice and the look she was giving Andy, "In the past few months," she paused briefly, making sure he was paying attention, "if there's one thing I've realized, it was that I do want a piece of paper saying that you're mine and that I'm yours," she rolled her eyes at the phrasing, because of course, they weren't things to have possession of.

"I don't want a pile of other paperwork working around the legalities of our commitment to one another." She squeezed his hand. "There's only one piece of paperwork I do want." She shrugged, as if feeling guilty for having taken so long to come to that conclusion. "Even if He," she threw a look heavenward, "cannot bless it." And she added more quietly, less proudly, confirming Andy's suspicions, "Even if the last time I had it, it didn't end so well."

He blinked a few times, processing her words. He swept a look over the room, and judging by the looks on their faces, the conclusion he had drawn was correct. Before he could find words to say, however, Sharon addressed Rusty.

"Would you please hand me that last gift?" she said, looking at him and stretching out a hand.

It took a second for Rusty to snap out of whatever stupor even he had been put in, and he quickly reached the thin almost paper-like present Sharon had prepared for Andy. When she grabbed ahold of it, she turned her attention to Andy again. She took the ring out of his hands, putting it inside its box again, and replaced it with her present. "And I want it even more so, considering this," she told him.

He looked down at his hands. He was now holding what he would have assumed was an envelope, had it not been for the glittery, red, star-ornamented wrapping paper. He fumbled a bit, trying to rip the paper off, and when he finally succeeded, it actually did reveal an envelope. A big A4 format, yellow envelope. He gave Sharon a questioning look and when she nodded, urging him to open it, he did.

Inside of it was a piece of paper, and, looking at the bottom corner of it, he realized it was only one page out of quite many, judging by the numbers printed on it. His eyes quickly scanned the document and when his brain kicked into gear, he finally realized what it was. "You bought the house?" he asked, looking up, flabbergasted now.

She nodded enthusiastically, clasping her hands together. "We," she was careful to point that out, "bought the house."

He looked at the paper again, frowning, before looking up again. "But we were outbid." His statement sounded more like a question.

"We were," Sharon agreed, taking the piece of paper out of his hands, "but the realtor called the other day." She shrugged. "He said the couple backed out of the deal after all and asked if we were still interested."

Again Andy frowned, trying to wrap his head around the words. "The other day," he repeated and then his eyes widened. "Your errand?" The sentence was more of an accusation than a question.

"Exactly," Sharon quipped, smiling broadly at him. "Technically though, we haven't bought the house just yet." Before Andy could ask for an elaboration, she pointed to a section of the document. "Since we're both buying the house," she lifted her head to give him a quick look, her finger still pointing to a spot on the paper, "shared ownership," she explained and then tapped her finger against the paper, "they need both of our signatures."

Before she knew what hit her, Andy had both of his hands on each side of her face and he planted his lips on hers, present company far from his mind as he did so. When he pulled away, the words he said were let out on almost a growl, "You are absolutely amazing, you know that, right?"

Instead of giving him an answer, she laughed. "Andy, you'll tear it all up," she said, trying to put some distance between them, looking at the paper that was still in her hand, slightly crumbled now.

In her attempt to scoot away from him, she ran into Emily's hands as she shielded herself from her mother's rather violent reaction. "Oh, sorry, honey," Sharon told her, patting her knee with a hand.

"Oh, sorry," Andy all but snatched the paper from her, smoothing it out. "Anybody got a pen?" he asked, making the entire room burst out into laughter.

"What?" he asked, confused.

Instead of an answer, Ricky produced a pen, seemingly out of thin air, earning himself a surprised look from both Sharon and Emily. He just shrugged and said, "Here you go."

Andy quickly jotted down his signature and put the piece of paper on the coffee table.

"I'll just," Sharon's mother started, not finishing the sentence, instead taking the envelope and tucking the now signed document inside of it. She was smiling widely in the process.

"We bought a house," Andy told Sharon. He was still obviously dumbfounded about it.

She laughed, "We did." She kissed him quickly.

They lapsed into silence, just looking at each other, and suddenly Rusty and their guests started feeling sightly uncomfortable.

When Bill cleared his throat, they snapped out of their daze and quickly turned their heads to him.

"So, Andy," Emily started, leaning forward to eye him around her mother. When he looked at her, she looked pointedly at his ring box.

When he realized what she was hinting at, he let out an "Oh," earning himself another chuckle from the group. He then cleared his throat, and picked the box up from Sharon's lap. "Right," he said, more to himself than anyone else.

He looked around the room and settled his gaze first on Kate, then on Bill. When Bill nodded, Andy nodded, too, and got to his feet.

They all looked at him expectantly, Sharon already tearing up, despite knowing what was about to happen, and he got down on one knee, muttering, "Might as well do it the right way."

Sharon smiled and ran a hand down his arm at the words.

She swallowed when he finally settled on his knee and looked up. He opened the box, swallowing as well. "Sharon, will you do me the honor of agreeing to become my wife?" It was difficult for him to speak past the lump in his throat.

Sharon slid down the couch to sit down on her legs and be at eye level with him, pushing the coffee table slightly out of her way in the process. She clasped his face between her hands and said, voice thick with emotion, "Yes, Andy." She kissed him, then added, smiling, almost grinning, "I would love to become your wife."

Andy was grinning when he took out the ring again, reaching for her hand. He was about to slip it on her finger, when he let out a confused, "Er."

Sharon chuckled and he shrugged apologetically. "I had it fitted for your little finger," he said. "So we can match," he added on a crooked smile, lifting his right hand.

She waved him off. "We can have it re-fitted later," she said, wiggling her fingers.

He smiled and shook his head at her sudden eagerness. "Sure," he said, finally slipping the ring on.

He kissed her, then got up to his feet again. He groaned in the process, making Emily, Ricky and Rusty snicker. He gave them a pointed look but extended a hand to Sharon, to help her up. She gladly accepted and got to her own feet in exaggerated elegance, as she, too, offered her children a pointed look.

"Congratulations, Mom," Emily stood up and wrapped her mother in a hug.

When Sharon whispered, "Thank you. I love you," into her ear, they pulled apart.

"You, too, Andy," Emily told him.

"Yes," Ricky suddenly stood up. "Congrats," he told the both of them over the back of the couch, but gave Andy a warning look. Sharon laughed at the display but Andy just shrugged in a 'What did I do?' kind of way.

After a round of heartfelt congratulations, Sharon and Andy sat down on the couch again, his arm wrapped around her again, too. Emily and Rusty started making noises about being hungry, when Andy suddenly loudly groaned.

"What is it?" Sharon asked, frowning at him.

"Provenza will never let me hear the end of this," he told her, shaking his head in resignation.

"Of what?" Sharon asked, even more puzzled now.

"I got talked into a proposal, too," Andy said, a look of utter devastation on his face now.

They all burst into laughter, but it took Sharon the longest to calm down. "Well," she started, taking a breath, trying to settle down, "you don't have to tell him."

"Oh, _he_ doesn't have to," Rusty suddenly piped up, even though he had no idea what it exactly was that had Sharon laugh so hard.

Sharon snorted at the implication, but Andy shot him an unimpressed and not in the slightest amused look.

Kate stood up then, not waiting for them to pull themselves together, and started walking toward the kitchen. "So you said you were hungry?" she said on her way.

"Mom," Sharon all but whined as she went quickly after her. "Let me, please."

 **TBC**

* * *

I plan on mentioning Andy's talk with Bill in the next chapter which will pick up right where this one ended and will be up as soon as possible. Please hit the reviews on this one until then!

And just fyi, there are only a few more things I had in mind of mentioning, so I should finally wrap this all up soon (2-3 more chapters, I think).

Oh, and once again I wish you all happy holidays! :)


	7. Chapter 7 - In-Laws

Thank you for the reviews! Glad you liked my previous chapter! What do you think of the next one? :)

* * *

 **Chapter 7 - In-Laws**

Andy couldn't help but chuckle at every other sentence he managed to overhear as Sharon tried to talk her mother out of making breakfast for them. He certainly understood where Sharon's stubborn streak came from and judging by their amused eye rolls, head shakes and smiles, her children and father knew as much as well.

"Mom, please, this is my home, let me cater to your needs for a change," was one of Sharon's pleas.

Kate simply said, "But I am your mother." As if that was reason enough for her to take over the chore.

It obviously wasn't, but Sharon took the opportunity to use the statement against her. "Then let me, a _mother_ , cook for my own children."

Emily snorted when she heard Kate simply say, "I am their grandmother."

"Grandma's doing that on purpose, you know," Ricky told Andy, scooting his chair even closer to the back of the couch.

"Being obtuse, that is," Bill added, making Andy bark a laugh.

Sharon changed tactics. "How old are you, mom?" they heard her ask.

"That is not a very nice question to ask a woman, Sharon," her mother admonished her.

Andy could only imagine Sharon's heavenward look in search for patience.

"Maybe I should go help," Emily said, starting to get up.

"Oh, no, no, you stay right here, young lady," her grandfather ordered. At Andy's surprised look, he shrugged and added, "Free entertainment."

"I hope mom doesn't hear that," Ricky mumbled through a chuckle.

"Didn't you say you wanted to get to know Andy a little more?" Sharon's voice suddenly said and Andy's eyes widened, putting amused smiles on his company's faces while Rusty even burst out laughing.

"You've only ever seen Rusty once before, too," Sharon added, putting an abrupt end to his laugh as he groaned instead.

"Mom's becoming des-" Ricky started, but his grandfather held up a hand to silence him.

And rightfully so, or else they would have missed his wife's sly retort, "If I didn't know better I'd think you were trying to get rid of me."

"She has the patience of a saint," Andy suddenly said, chuckling. He'd have flown off the handle about 5 minutes into this argument if he were dealing with his (God rest her soul) mother. He then realized how that may have sounded and slanted a slightly worried and guilty look at Bill.

He however, just laughed. "Gets that from me," he told him, eliciting snickers from his grandchildren.

So after another bout of tough and long bargaining Sharon finally managed to dissuade her mother from making breakfast. After promising to let her help with dinner, she finally successfully ushered her out of the kitchen and back into the living room.

"Did you have your fun, honey?" Bill asked her as she sat down on the chair across from him again.

She smiled, lifting her chin ever so slightly in self-satisfaction. "I did," she confirmed mirthfully, in an eerily Sharon-like fashion as she neatly folded her hands across her lap.

"Wow," Rusty said, a look of pure admiration on his face.

"Wow," Andy repeated, equally impressed.

Emily and Ricky just snorted laughs at them. At Andy's and Rusty's puzzled looks, Emily explained. "Grandma's the only one who can rile mom up."

"It's as close to making her freak out as anyone ever gets to," Ricky added, grinning merrily.

"Wow," Rusty said again.

But Andy suddenly laughed and said, "Oh, I'm gonna love having you as in-laws."

"Why thank you, Andy," Bill told him, laughing as well.

"Welcome to the family," Kate added, joining her husband's laughter.

...

Eating breakfast was a less challenging affair for Sharon. Once they were done eating, her children and Gus, who had, of course, joined them, insisted on clearing the table, to which Andy, Sharon and her parents agreed without protest.

When they were done, Emily and Ricky took off to the hotel for a fresh set of clothes and would not return until later in the afternoon since they had Christmas lunch plans with Jack. Gus and Rusty took their leave as well, wanting some time for themselves before Gus had to, unfortunately, start his afternoon shift.

"Perks of working in a restaurant. People are always hungry, even on Christmas," Gus had joked.

Sharon's parents were curled up on the couch whereas Andy and Sharon occupied the chairs next to it. Their casual chitchat as they relaxed in the living room over some random, only too familiar, Christmas movie, was interrupted by the buzz of Sharon's phone. She let out a soft laugh when she read her text, making Andy ask, "What?"

"You didn't tell Nicole you got engaged?" Sharon asked, the remnants of her laugh still visible in the smile she was wearing.

Andy's eyebrows shot up. He had talked to Nicole earlier, to wish her a merry Christmas, but, as a matter of fact, had not mentioned having proposed to Sharon. "I forgot," he replied, shrugging his shoulders and grimacing apologetically. He really did forget and truthfully, he was still reeling from the morning's events, he still did not exactly believe he hadn't only imagined them.

"Well, expect a call from her, then," Sharon told him simply, putting her phone down on the coffee table.

"Why would _you_ tell her?" Andy suddenly asked, leaning forward in his chair.

Sharon looked at him, puzzled now. "Why wouldn't I tell her?" she said. "Besides, when I wished her a merry Christmas, she asked if I got any good presents and, of course, I mentioned yours." She offered her parents a warm smile, "Among some others," she added.

"Oh," Andy said, relaxing back into his chair. "Makes sense," he told himself more than her.

Sharon gave him a searching look, but deciding she had nothing to worry about and that he was just being, well, Andy, she told him, "The boys made her a 'best mom' plaque."

Andy's face immediately lit up, "They did, huh?"

"Yeah, and judging by the three exclamation marks in her text, I think she loved it," Sharon confirmed, smiling warmly.

"I love those little guys," Andy said.

"It's hard not to," Sharon agreed.

"Your grandchildren?" Bill asked Andy.

"Yes," Andy confirmed. "Well," he shrugged, "step-grandchildren."

"Mhm," Bill let out in acknowledgment.

Andy was about to elaborate, when Kate, offering her daughter an amused smile, said, "So, you'll become a grandmother soon."

Sharon actually seemed confused for a split second and her eyes widened fractionally when her mother's words sunk in. "Oh," she shrugged. "A step-grandmother though," she confirmed. "Technically," she added.

"She's already as good as," Andy said. "I think they like her more than me," he told Kate, chuckling.

"Well, you are a somewhat acquired taste," Sharon told him, her teasing clearly etched into both her voice and face.

When Andy gave her an unimpressed glare, Sharon's parents laughed.

"That would make you a great-grandmother, wouldn't it?" Bill suddenly told his wife, smirking at her.

"Oh," Kate said. She hummed thoughtfully then gave first Sharon then Andy a look. "Maybe we should reconsider this union."

"Not feeling so young now, are you, honey?" Bill told her, running a hand down her arm in exaggerated sympathy.

Kate just warned him with a glare and he quickly took his hand back. Andy had to stifle a laugh. Sharon and her mother really were scarily alike.

"Speaking of this union," Sharon started pointedly, giving Andy an amused look, "you mentioned a chat earlier?" She finished the question by pinning her father with a look.

"I did," her father confirmed casually, making her mother snort a laugh next to him.

"Nothing to worry about," Kate assured her, reaching over to pat her daughter's knee.

When Sharon narrowed her eyes, nowhere close to being satisfied with their answers, Andy waved her off. "Nothing to worry about," he repeated. "I survived, didn't I?" he added on a grin.

Honestly, had Andy actually planned on proposing to Sharon he would have done the traditional asking the parents for her hand in marriage thing. And when in the end he did ask Bill for a word, it had been on an idea that had simply popped into his head just then. Not at all a well-thought out idea at that.

 _"What can I do for you, Andy?" Bill asked him, leading the way into Rusty's room and sitting down on his bed._

 _Andy closed the door, then awkwardly pulled out Rusty's desk chair and started scrambling for words as he sat down. "It's about Sharon," he started, rubbing a hand over the back of his head, "and me."_

 _Andy really had no idea what exactly he wanted to say. Thankfully, Bill must have picked up on his unease and tried to lift the mood. "Are you letting me grill you?"_

 _He had asked it in jest and Andy did relax and smile, but his answer was a surprising one. "Well, actually, yes, that's exactly what I'm doing," he told him, completely serious, nodding his head as if confirming it for himself as well._

 _Bill couldn't help but laugh. However, when Andy looked at him expectantly he had to concede that the man really wasn't trying to be funny. He then asked him the first question that came to mind. "You want to marry my daughter?"_

 _That had Andy tense up again. "Oh, no, she doesn't want to get married again," he told Bill quickly. "I mean, I'd marry her in a heartbeat, but-"_

 _"Ah," Bill interrupted him, "I understand." And he did, because he knew his daughter well. "What's this about then?"_

 _"Just a second," Andy said and suddenly got to his feet. He approached Bill on the bed and asked him to offer his hand. When he did, he dropped his sobriety ring into his palm. "It's about this," Andy explained. He sat down on the bed next to him and added, "Well, not that ring, hers needs to be picked up."_

 _Bill inspected the object in his hand, then offered Andy a confused look. "I thought you weren't proposing?" he asked._

 _"I'm not," Andy confirmed. "Look," Andy got to his feet again, starting to pace, too, "a lot's happened in the past few months." He stopped to pin Bill with an intense look. "I'm not proposing, and trust me, I would if she'd let me, but since I can't." He closed his mouth to collect his thoughts as he realized he was rambling again. Before opening it again he took a deep breath. "I only wanted to," he started gesturing wildly with his hands, "make her a promise in front of her kids," he rubbed a hand behind his head again,"and well, now that you're here, in front of you as well, of course." He sat down again, turning to face Bill fully, almost imploring him to understand. "I want to promise her in front of you, what I can't in front of a priest or a court official. I guess, I now only wanted you-"_

 _"You wanted my blessing?" Bill interrupted, guessing correctly what Andy wanted. He couldn't help but feel a little touched at the thought himself, he could easily imagine Sharon's reaction then._

 _When Bill put it that way, Andy realized that that was true, even if he had not consciously decided to seek it. "Apparently I am," Andy let out on a nervous chuckle._

 _Bill frowned then, clearly considering something. "Why?" he asked and before Andy could reply, he added, "I know my daughter. She does not need or want my permission for anything. She hasn't for a long time anyway."_

 _"God no!" Andy almost shouted, startling Bill. "Sorry," he quickly said. "But I think she'd still appreciate having it." He waved a hand through the air. "The blessing, I mean," he clarified._

 _Bill smiled and patted Andy's shoulder. "Well, you know my daughter, too, then," he told him._

 _Andy smiled. "She knows me, too," he said softly._

 _"Well, before I give you my blessing," Bill started and saw that Andy, probably instinctively, squared his shoulders, "I really only have one question."_

 _Andy nodded, silently letting him know he should continue._

 _"Why does it matter?" Bill asked._

 _Andy gave him a puzzled look and Bill could tell that his first thought was probably a more violent one along the lines of "Of course it matters!" but when he finally spoke, it was in a calm manner, "Because, whether she admits it or not, it matters to her." His answer was honest whether 'it' was his plan or his unexpected search for a blessing._

 _"Even if it's only a gesture?" Bill asked, knowing full well that, technically, marriage was a gesture, too._

 _Andy smiled again. "Especially then," he said thickly._

And so, once that was out of the way, not that Andy had even realized he wanted to have that out of the way, the rest just fell into place. Much better than anticipated even.

Sharon rolled her eyes at their tight-lip-ness. She folded her arms, seemingly annoyed even if the slight upward turn of her lips gave her amusement away, and said, "Maybe _I_ should reconsider this union."

...

Lunch was a simple affair, even quiet with the kids out of the condo. Sharon's parents had opted for a nap afterwards and had retreated to Rusty's room, while Andy and Sharon stayed in the living room, watching yet another Christmas movie.

Rusty came home shortly before the movie ended, but retreated to his room once Sharon's parents got up. Within another hour Ricky and Emily also arrived to find their mother and grandmother busy preparing dinner for them, while Bill and Andy were having a friendly discussion about baseball, something, they found out, both of them followed with interest.

"So dad's sober," Emily told her mother, forgoing a greeting, as she propped herself on top of one of the counter chairs.

Sharon was briefly surprised by her daughter's introductory topic, but schooled her features before she could notice. "That's good," she told Emily, and she meant it.

"He was asking about you," Ricky told her, following his sister to sit behind the counter next to her.

"When does he not?" Sharon said sarcastically before she could stop herself, making her mother give her an amused smile.

Ricky didn't seem to mind the retort and went on, "We didn't know if we should tell him about you and Andy."

"So we didn't mention it," Emily added. "Just said grandpa and grandma were here for a visit."

"It's not a secret," Sharon told them, bending down to check the oven. Emily in particular had grown more careful when it came to sharing any Andy-related news, ever since the blood clot incident.

"We know," Ricky was quick to explain, "it's just that we didn't want-"

"Oh," Sharon interrupted, finally having turned around to give them her full attention while her mother was still fiddling with a knife and some vegetables. "I understand," she told them. And she did. They thought he had fallen off the wagon because of the divorce, so it wasn't surprising that they would worry about another relapse due to the latest news. "But he will find out eventually."

"We know," Emily admitted on a sigh.

"It can wait until after the holidays though," Ricky decided.

She offered them a sympathetic smile. Even though she would give anything for her children to have a decent relationship with their father, and she couldn't be happier that it seemed he was putting a little more effort into it this time around, she couldn't, nor would she, keep her engagement from him. Her heart also ached for her children's concerns. No child should have to worry about his parent in that way. She'd take those worries away in a heartbeat if only she could.

"I have no intention of offering him the news," she told them, "but if he happens to find out," she shrugged, "there's really nothing I can do about that."

"We know," Emily and Ricky let out in unison this time.

"You hungry?" Kate decided to interject in a feeble attempt at changing the topic.

"We had lunch an hour ago, grandma," Ricky told her in a 'duuuh' voice.

Emily took her hint however, and hopped off her stool, asking, "Need any help with that?"

...

For dinner, since there were only six chairs at the dining table, just as during their previous crowded meal times, Rusty was squeezed in on one side of the table, propped on one of the counter stools (Gus had occupied one of the stools, too, on the two occasions he had joined them), next to Ricky and Emily. Sharon was at the head of the table, Andy to her left. Next to Andy sat Bill, his wife at the other end of the table next to him.

Lighter topics filled dinner. And as they drew it to a close the topics turned to Andy and Sharon's upcoming wedding.

"Have you thought about a date yet?" Emily asked.

Sharon and Andy exchanged looks. "We haven't thought about any of it really," Andy offered.

"Mhm," Sharon hummed in agreement, while swallowing a bite. "But," she waved her fork between Ricky and Emily, "we will have to coordinate with your schedules," she informed them pointedly.

"I'll add it to my calendar," Ricky said sarcastically.

"Attend my mother's wedding," Emily added, chuckling as she pretended to write the words down.

"Ha-ha," Sharon said, unimpressed.

"We're all here tomorrow," Bill suddenly said, as if in passing by, as he concentrated on the final contents of his plate.

Andy perked up at that, but Sharon shot him a look, and he frowned, "Well, they are," he said defensively.

"And who will be your best man?" Sharon asked patiently.

Andy looked at her for a moment, "Oh." Provenza was out of town till the following evening.

"Exactly," Sharon told him, putting her utensils down neatly on her plate.

"Can you even apply for a marriage license and get married on the second day of Christmas?" Rusty asked. Like Sharon, he was apparently done with his dinner.

"Good point," Bill told him, looking up, his plate now empty, too.

"I would love having you there, though," Sharon told her parents.

"Us, too," her mother assured her, sadly.

"There's only so much traveling we can do," Bill added regretfully.

"As much as I hate to admit it," Kate gave both Sharon and Andy an amused look, "we're not 60 anymore."

Ricky and Rusty chuckled, but Emily, seated closest to her mother, had the good sense to keep a straight face. The other two quickly sobered though when it was Andy who shot a bland look at them.

Suddenly Rusty's eyes widened and he looked worriedly at Andy. "I won't have to call you 'dad' now?" he asked him. "Because," Rusty slanted a slightly alarmed look at his mother, "I just-"

"Oh, Rusty," Sharon interrupted, exchanging a quick look with Andy, quietly grateful the rest of the table didn't react to Rusty's sudden question either, "No, you won't have to," she assured him. "Just like you don't _have_ to call me 'mom'," she added with a somewhat pointed look.

Rusty looked at Andy, who offered him a reassuring smile. By the time he looked back at Sharon, he understood her pointed look. "Okay, I won't then," he told her. If he ever changed his mind, that would be okay, too.

"Wait," Ricky suddenly addressed his mother, "he doesn't have to call you 'mom'? Does that mean," he gave his sister a look and she smirked, catching his drift, "we," he waved a hand between himself and Emily, "can call you 'Captain'?" Emily said the last word with him.

While Andy, Rusty and Kate chuckled, Sharon opened her mouth for a retort but her father beat her to it. "Only if you call me 'Honorable Judge'," he told them, not a trace of humor in the words, even if the look he gave them was an amused one.

Ricky's and Emily's heads snapped back to look at him. They both shook them at him, too. "And here I thought you were the fun one in the family, grandpa," Ricky said, disappointment evident in the words.

When Bill just shrugged his shoulders, exchanging a quick look with his wife, and said, "Well, I think you two calling me 'Honorable Judge' _is_ funny," Sharon snorted a laugh while Andy nearly choked on the water he was in the middle of drinking.

"I agree," their grandmother added, challenging the two with the quirk of an eyebrow.

"'Mom' it is then," Ricky finally conceded and when even his sister laughed at him, he elbowed her in the side.

The move did not go unnoticed by their mother though. "Behave," she ordered, but judging by the mirthful look on her face, with no real heat.

It did, however give Emily and Ricky the chance to eagerly quip, "Yes, Captain!" before dissolving into giggles like a couple of 5-year-olds.

Sharon shook her head at them, while the rest of the table laughed.

"And for that," she waved a hand at them, smiling broadly, "you get to clear up later."

"You, too, mister," she added when Rusty grinned.

"What did I do?" Rusty asked, raising his hands as if insulted by her words.

"Don't you know, Rusty," Emily started calmly, speaking like her mother often did when carefully explaining something, "that when one sibling gets into trouble, the other ones get punished, too?"

"I'm 20," Rusty argued, giving her a 'you-must-be-kidding-me' look.

"No, no," Ricky was quick to correct, "you're always three!"

When Rusty let his head fall backward as he groaned, Sharon snorted. "Not my usual philosophy of punishment," she shrugged a shoulder because it really wasn't, diffusion of responsibility was something she did not appreciate while raising her children, "but I can make an exception."

"Breaking the rules, are we?" Andy suddenly teased, smiling crookedly.

Sharon just gave him a bland look. "No, Rusty, you most definitely do _not_ have to call Andy 'dad'," she told him seriously.

When Rusty laughed, Andy let out a faux offended, "Hey!"

"Dug that hole yourself, son," Bill muttered under his breath, earning himself an enthusiastic nod from his wife.

"Practice makes perfect, right?" Andy tried, giving Bill a hopeful look.

"Well," Kate said, giving her husband a long appraising look, "you can practice all you want, but..." She shrugged.

Everybody laughed, but Bill just looked questioningly at his wife, "I thought you thought I already was perfect?" he asked, suddenly rather taken aback.

"Of course I do, honey," Kate assured him, patting his hand on top of the table.

Bill looked at her for a moment as if deciding just how patronizing that was. He then suddenly shrugged and said happily, "See?" sending everyone into another fit of laughter.

"Oh, jeez," Andy suddenly said, giving Sharon almost a pleading look. "You don't want a huge wedding, do you?" he asked her in a worried tone of voice.

"Of course not," Sharon said immediately, although clearly surprised by the sudden change of topic.

"Oh, good," Andy said, visibly relieved, "because after Nicole's wedding, I don't think I could go through it all again."

Rusty laughed, drawing surprised looks from his siblings and grandparents. "He complained," he told them. "A lot," he made sure to add.

Sharon laughed, too, nodding her head. "He really did," she confirmed, before turning her attention to Andy again. "But what made you think I would?"

"Er," Andy waved a hand through the air, "your sense of occasion?"

For a second she looked at Andy in confusion, but when both her parents and children burst into laughter, she laughed as well. "Well," she started, taking a moment to collect herself, "I _would_ like a nice reception though. As for the wedding ceremony," she waved a hand dismissively, "I guess you will do."

Andy gave her an unimpressed look, but instead of lessening the blow she added, smiling mischievously now, "And a witness, of course."

"You know, Sharon," Andy gave her a narrow-eyed look, " _you_ were the one to talk _me_ into this."

Before Sharon could offer a retort (although, the way her mouth opened, then promptly closed, may have meant she did not exactly have one) her parents started laughing again. "She has finally found her match, hasn't she?" Kate told Bill more than anyone else at the table.

When Bill nodded in agreement, Andy straightened proudly in his chair, "Ooh," he hooked a thumb in their direction, "I think I love my future in-laws," he told the room.

When it sent them into another fit of laughter, all but Sharon, who could only roll her eyes in amusement, he leaned slightly forward, closer to her, and said, in a low voice so only she could hear him, "And I _know_ I love you."

He leaned back, satisfied with himself when, almost bashfully, she smiled at him in reply.

 **TBC**


	8. Chapter 8 - Touched

**Chapter 8 - Touched**

Their early morning had them in bed at an even earlier time. It was barely 9 pm but Sharon was already tucked in bed.

When he came out of the bathroom to join her, Andy found her fiddling, somewhat absently, with her newest piece of jewelry.

"Something on your mind?" he asked, looking at her, after finally slipping under the covers, as he folded an arm under his head.

"Hmm," Sharon hummed, scooting closer to him. She folded her hands on top of his chest to rest her head on top of her hands. "Just enjoying this," she finally told him.

He had to smile at the sight of her. He loved seeing her so relaxed, not a trace of makeup or anything else that usually helped her usual prim and proper image, especially when, like just then, her hair messily framed her face and fell over her shoulders as she looked up at him. That half of her was basically draped over him, he loved that, too.

"What about you?" she asked, noticing his thoughts straying.

"Nothing." He chuckled and added, "I like this look." He waved a hand at her face.

She lifted a hand to her ear to tuck a strand of hair behind it. "No," he took hold of her hand, "let me," he told her, moving her hair out of the way.

She smiled and leaned into his touch. "We'll need to update our superiors about this," she suddenly told him, resettling her head on top of her hands. "Once we get married," she added.

"Of course," he refrained from rolling his eyes at those rules of hers. "Imagine Taylor's face if we could tell him," he said, the look on his face showing he was doing exactly that.

She let out a soft laugh, but there was a note of sadness in her voice when she spoke, "We're having such a wonderful Christmas, whereas his family..." There was no need to end the sentence.

"Yeah, the thought alone is awful," Andy said sadly.

She hummed again. "No need to try imagining it," she added.

He hummed in agreement, tracing the back of his fingers gently down her cheek to her neck. They stayed quiet for a moment. Taylor may not have been among their favorite people, but it was still difficult to wrap their heads around the fact that they had lost him.

"Speaking of work," Andy finally said, deciding to change the topic to a lighter one, "Provenza texted," he wiggled an eyebrow, "he said, and I quote, 'She's nuts.'"

Sharon replied through a laugh, "Andy, I don't think I was meant to hear that."

"Nah," he shrugged her off, "he's said plenty of much worse things about you," he assured her. When she quirked a suspicious eyebrow at him he was quick to add, "In the past."

She offered him an indulging smile, then asked, "You told _him_ you proposed, but forgot to tell your _daughter_?"

He smirked, playing with a strand of her hair now. "I was still under shock," he told her, shrugging.

She only managed to shake her head at him, when suddenly his phone went off. He pulled his hand out from underneath his head to reach for it. "Speaking of the devil," Andy said on a chuckle when he grabbed ahold of it.

Sharon gave him a questioning look, not knowing which devil he was referring to. When he showed her the caller ID, she mumbled, "About time."

Nicole had actually called earlier, before dinner, but Andy had missed her call. When, after dinner, he tried calling back, she didn't pick up. A few minutes ago, he texted her letting her know that, if she was up (you never knew, with a pair of hyperactive boys), she could call. He promised to pick up this time.

"Hey, Nicole," Andy said as he took the call.

"Yes," he told her.

"Tomorrow," were his next words.

He noticed that, not that she would ever admit to eavesdropping, Sharon was straining to hear Nicole's side of the call. So he quirked a knowing eyebrow at her, making her smile guiltily, and put the call on speakerphone, just in time to hear Nicole say, "So, dad," Andy rolled his eyes, knowing exactly where she was going with that, "got any news for me?" she asked.

Sharon couldn't help herself and she snorted a laugh, instantly getting up to cover her mouth with the back of her hand in apology.

"Oh, Sharon," Nicole, of course, heard her, "is that you?" she asked.

"Hi, Nicole, Merry Christmas again," Sharon told her, making herself comfortable as she leaned against the headboard.

"Nah," Andy told his daughter before she could respond to Sharon, "not really." He pulled himself up against the headboard as well.

"Ha-ha," Nicole mocked. "I can't believe you call me and don't tell me you're getting married!" Her voice went up and Andy thought that this Sharon would have heard even without the speakerphone on.

"Sorry," Andy said honestly. "I was kind of dazed, it just slipped my mind," he explained, giving Sharon a guilty look.

"Well," Nicole told him, sounding an awful lot like her father when he was up to something, "I forgive you." She paused a second before adding, "As long as you don't forget to invite me to the wedding."

"Don't worry," Sharon responded, "he won't," she assured her.

"Bless you, Sharon," Nicole told her. "I told Dean, dad," she continued. "He sends you congratulations, by the way. And the boys, they just can't wait to start calling Sharon grandma." Sharon groaned at this, making Nicole laugh. "Mom and Charlie know, too," she ended her list.

Andy's eyes widened, "You told your brother?" As improved as things were with his son, he didn't seem as enthusiastic about Sharon as his daughter was.

"Of course I did," Nicole told him as if she was telling him the time of day. "'Nice catch' is what he said if memory serves."

Sharon laughed. "Oh," Nicole suddenly sounded flustered, "forgot you were there," she told her.

Sharon just laughed again, wondering if Nicole even knew just how much she resembled her father. "Don't worry about it. 'Nice catch' is better than 'nuts'," Sharon told her, giving Andy an amused look.

"Uh," Nicole said, pausing. Probably deciding she shouldn't pry, she went on. "Anyways, I won't intrude on your evening. Just called to tease you dad."

Andy groaned. "How thoughtful of you," he told her, rolling his eyes.

"Get it from my dad," Nicole quipped.

Andy had to chuckle.

"You're not intruding," Sharon told her.

"Well, it's been a long day," Nicole said. "See you on Tuesday anyway," she added.

"Okay," Sharon gave in.

"Good night, sweetheart," Andy told her. "Say hi to Dean, and _our_ ," he slanted a look at Sharon, "grandsons if they're still up."

They heard Nicole chuckle. "Oh, they're out for the count, but I'll tell 'em we spoke. Night you two!"

After Sharon's "Good night," Andy ended the call.

When he put his phone down, Sharon suddenly wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against the inside of his shoulder as she snuggled into him. He looked at her in surprise, but wrapped his arms around her equally tightly. He completely understood. He felt so content at the moment that, if he could, he would stay like this forever, never letting go again. And that still wouldn't have been enough to express just how happy he was.

"You really talked to my dad?" she asked quietly after a few moments.

"Yeah," he confirmed. When she looked up, raising an eyebrow imploring him to elaborate on that, he smiled and said, "I didn't really plan on it."

She loosened her hold on him and lifted her head to give him a better look. "What do you mean?" she asked, sounding intrigued.

"Well," he did not loosen his grip on her, "I was on my way to the bathroom, yesterday morning, and I saw him in the hallway." He sighed. "Next thing I know I ask him for a quick word." He sounded mildly shocked about it.

She laughed, briefly dropping her head to his shoulder again. "Poor dad," she said, looking up again.

"'Poor dad'?" Andy repeated, sounding mildly offended. "Can you imagine talking to your girlfriend's father about said girlfriend but not knowing what it was you exactly wanted to discuss?"

She laughed again. "With you," she told him, "I most certainly can."

He shook his head at her. "Anyway," he started pointedly, "he gave us his blessing," he finished with a nod of his head.

"And you had no idea you were seeking it?" Sharon guessed.

He groaned, wordlessly answering in the affirmative. "You'd think at my age, worrying about parental judgement was no longer on the agenda," he told her.

She all but giggled. "Sorry," she told him, _sounding_ sorry, too.

"I'm kind of glad we talked though," he suddenly told her.

She gave him a surprised look. "You are?" she asked, not really questioning whether he was or wasn't but rather wondering why he was.

"Well," his voice went suspiciously high and she narrowed her eyes at him, "we were doing this the old-fashioned way," he told her on a smirk. "Proposing to you without asking your father for your hand first?" he asked, a faux shudder going through him in answer.

It drew a snort from her but she snuggled into him again. "Thank you," she told him before pressing her lips to his chest.

"What for?" he asked, genuinely puzzled.

"For knowing me," she told him simply, squeezing him briefly.

He dropped a kiss to her hair. "My pleasure," he told her on a smile.

"So when can we move in?" he asked after a moment.

She hummed, "Next year," she told him. At his unimpressed look, she clarified, "Mid-January the latest."

"The condo?" he inquired.

"The realtor said he already has buyers lined up."

He tightened his grip on her briefly. "Good."

The plan was to use the proceeds from the sales of both his house and her condo to pay off most of their new house. The rest they would cover with their current income. However, they made sure that they would still be able to afford it, should they retire before paying off the entire sum.

"How are you feeling?" she asked softly.

He suppressed an eye roll. He wouldn't complain though, she hadn't asked in days. "Excellent," he said instead.

When she just hummed in acknowledgement, he was glad he hadn't complained. It was progress. She didn't press him with any follow-up questions.

"You?" he asked.

She untangled herself from him suddenly, sitting up properly, and pinning him with an almost dreamy look. "I could stay like this forever," she told him.

He scooted down, to settle on his side. He reached for one of her hands and tugged on it. "Then, come here," he ordered.

She smiled and went willingly. When she was close enough he lifted his head up slightly and planted his lips on hers.

When she melted into the kiss he thought he could stay like that forever, too.

...

"At least I'm allowed to drive mom's car," she heard Ricky say as she walked down the hall.

"The new one," she heard Emily add.

The next thing she heard was Rusty's groan.

Emily and Ricky had insisted on spending the night at the condo. Call it selfishness, but as uncomfortable and crowded as she knew the condo would be, she didn't have the heart to insist they go to their hotel to a proper bed. And even if she had, it would have been futile since they informed her they had already checked out and had left their baggage down in the car. So all she could do was offer them as many spare blankets as she could find so they could make themselves at least a little more comfortable than it was for them the night before.

When they saw her, Emily shot her mother a question instead of a morning greeting, "How come Rusty can't drive your fancy car, mom?"

The three of them were wide awake and already out of their pajamas. They were sitting at the dining table, enjoying their morning coffee.

Sharon wasn't sure if she even wanted to know how they started the topic, so she offered all three of them a pointed "Good morning," before giving Rusty an amused smile and answering, "He doesn't indicate."

He just rolled his eyes, but Ricky addressed him, sounding utterly shocked, "You don't indicate?" He waved a hand at his mother. "Have you met her?"

Sharon laughed. "Why are you even discussing this?" she asked them. Okay, maybe she did want to know how they started the topic.

"Long story," Emily answered, smiling mischievously.

Sharon made her way into the kitchen to put on some coffee for herself and Andy, who was in the bathroom at the moment. "Are your brother and sister giving you a hard time Rusty?" Sharon asked, her sugary tone of voice not one Rusty ever heard before.

"Actually," Rusty gave his brother and sister a look, "we were talking about you and Andy."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, but when she turned around her features were schooled again. "What about?" she asked, genuinely curious now.

"Well, for starters," her daughter addressed her, "you work together, you live together, you're marrying one another, but you don't carpool?"

"Oh," Sharon laughed, waving them off, although that clearly wasn't the only thing they were talking about. "That's just because he usually gets rolled out to a crime scene while I have to head over to headquarters." When both Ricky and Emily looked at her in surprise, she added, "What?"

It was Rusty who answered. "I've been trying to tell them that for 20 minutes or so," he made a show of lighting up his phone screen to look at the time. "They didn't believe me," he shot them an annoyed look now, "instead started picking on me."

"Well," she told Ricky and Emily through a smile, turning around to focus on her coffee making process, "it is true, although we do carpool _occasionally_." She then quickly turned her head around to tell Rusty, "It's also true that you don't indicate."

When his brother and sister started laughing, Rusty just shook his head at her. "When do you two leave today?" he asked them on almost a whine.

"Ha," Sharon snorted a laugh, making her two eldest children's heads snap up to look at her, not at all impressed with the sudden outburst. She just shrugged a shoulder at them.

"What's so funny?" they heard Andy ask as he entered their field of view.

"Nothing," Emily told him, chuckling.

Andy stopped and gave the bunch a long look, but decided to just ignore it and flopped into a chair next to Rusty. "Morning," he told them as he did so.

"Morning," all of them mumbled.

"Your mom and dad are up," Andy informed Sharon.

She reached for an additional two cups, taking his hint, and said, "Alright."

"You know I'm not staying for breakfast, right, mom?" Rusty asked Sharon.

She turned around and gave him a puzzled look before she remembered. "Right, I know," she told him. He was visiting his mother and baby sister. "You going to be okay?" she asked him.

He nodded, "Yeah, don't worry."

Emily and Ricky exchanged brief looks but refrained from asking any questions. Sharon had warned them that it was still a touchy subject with Rusty. And even though Rusty himself had told them where he was going, they also knew to leave the topic be, unless it was him who wanted to discuss it some more.

Having finally made the coffee, Sharon sat down at the head of the table, putting her cup down while carefully sliding Andy's over to him. "Do you _have_ to leave today?" she asked Ricky and Emily, giving them a pleading look. Of course, they had to, but that would not stop her from asking, begging even.

Emily put a hand over hers. "Unfortunately, we do," she told her sadly.

Ricky's and Emily's flights were within an hour of each other. Ricky would board their grandparents' flight to make sure they got home okay, then make his own way home from there, while Emily had a direct flight to New York. That meant they would all leave for the airport at the same time after lunch, with Sharon giving them a ride over.

"Your visit was entirely too short," she told them, a slight scolding in her voice. "But I'll take what I can get," she added on a lighter smile.

"Hurry up with the wedding, mom, and you'll see us again in no time," Ricky told her.

"So, all it takes to have you over is me getting married?" Sharon asked, amused now.

"Yup," Ricky quipped.

"I should get married more often then," Sharon told Andy on a laugh.

"Ah-uh," Andy warned with the wave of a finger. "This is the last time," he told her seriously, drawing amused looks from her children.

Sharon smiled over the top of her coffee cup. "It is," she confirmed, watching him happily.

...

Once Rusty left, and after they had breakfast, they retreated to the living room. Sharon was sitting in the middle of the couch, her hands wrapped around one of her daughter's hands and she had even managed to talk Ricky into sitting next to her on her other side. She was clearly indulging in their presence for as long as she could before she had to let them go back to their own lives again.

While Bill and Kate occupied the chairs on either side of the coffee table, Andy had chosen to make himself comfortable on one of the dining chairs. And Andy was the current topic of conversation, too. Although, technically, Sharon was as well.

"So that Christmas," Ricky was in the middle of explaining to his grandparents, "Emily and I thought they were already together." He was describing their last Christmas visit and the surprise they prepared for Sharon.

"What made you think that?" Sharon asked, giving him a puzzled look. Apart from Rusty's and Nicole's assumptions, that she had at the time discussed with Andy at length, she wasn't aware of anyone else coming to similar conclusions.

Emily and Ricky shared a look. "Rusty," Emily said.

"Rusty?" Sharon repeated, still confused. "Oh, my God, he told you about The Nutcracker!" she suddenly exclaimed, her eyes widening as it dawned on her.

Andy groaned when both of them nodded just a tad too enthusiastically. Emily added, "You two did seem rather comfortable around each other. Didn't see you smiling that much at Lieutenant Provenza either." She smirked at her mother.

"The Nutcracker?" Kate asked Andy, ignoring Ricky's sly snicker at the almost affronted look Sharon shot him and his sister.

Andy gave Sharon a guilty look and when she smiled briefly, shrugging only fractionally, he answered. "My daughter," he threw Emily and Ricky a look, "and Rusty, obviously, were under the impression the two of us were dating back then." It was no accident that he omitted a few crucial details. "And it got a bit awkward when we went to see The Nutcracker together, two years ago or so."

"Awkward," Emily repeated knowingly. She didn't elaborate though since her mother glared at her in warning.

"Two years ago," Bill said, mulling the information over. "And you told us, what," he exchanged a look with his wife, "less than a year and a half ago?" She nodded.

"Which is around the time they started," Ricky offered, putting air quotation marks around the next words, "officially dating."

Sharon leaned her head against the back of the couch, closing her eyes briefly, probably in search of patience, while Andy rolled his eyes. "Despite what you two, or your brother, might assume, that is exactly right," she told them pointedly, opening her eyes and lifting her head to look at her oldest son.

Andy suddenly let out a chuckle, shaking his head to himself. "You know, maybe I should thank the kid," he told Sharon, who narrowed her eyes at him, not at all feeling like he would be going anywhere good with that statement. He directed the next words at Ricky and Emily, "Because once the seed was planted..." he wiggled his eyebrows knowingly.

Sharon laughed, even more so at the suddenly shocked expressions on her children's faces. It was true, Nicole's assumptions (even if somewhat encouraged by Andy) and Rusty's comments had made it all suddenly rather clear, worryingly obvious even. She now sometimes thought that, had Stroh not escaped, sending her into a constant state of paralyzing fear for a few months, they may have gotten to 'officially' dating much sooner.

"And to think that he was then appalled when our first official," Sharon gave Ricky a pointed look, "date went well," she left the sentence open, shaking her head in amusement.

Andy shrugged, grinning. "You know what they say about karma." Sharon gave him an amused smile.

"I have to admit though," Kate told her daughter, following the story intently, "I was surprised when you introduced us to _Lieutenant_ Andy Flynn."

Bill nodded. "You were always so adamant about separating work from home," he told her, sounding rather curious.

"Oh, trust me," Andy gave them a wide-eyed look. "She still is."

When they all laughed at the exasperated voice he underlined the words with, Sharon just smirked and shrugged her shoulders innocently.

"You know," Emily started, pulling her hand out from her mother's, until then, unyielding hold, turning around slightly to pin her with a look. "I never thought you'd be getting married before me."

Sharon snorted a laugh, pulling her daughter into a hug. "Honey, that's usually how it goes," she told her softly against her hair.

"Ha-ha," Emily said once Sharon let go of her, completely unimpressed at both her words and the laughter they elicited from the rest of the room.

Smiling broadly, Kate looked at Sharon. "I got married before my daughter, too, Emily."

"The world's changed since we were kids," Bill added, "but that's still usually how it goes, right?" he asked, looking at Andy for confirmation now.

"Right," Andy barely managed to let out as he fought his laughter.

"What are _you_ laughing at?" Emily shot the question at her brother suddenly.

He quickly sobered and put his palms up in surrender. "Hey, _I_ know how it usually goes," he told her.

Before their bickering could escalate, Sharon ran a hand down her daughter's arm. "I didn't really think I'd be getting married again either," she told her softly and more seriously now as she caught her hand in hers. "Wasn't even looking for a boyfriend," she admitted, rolling her eyes at the title, "much less a fiancé." She slanted Andy a warm look. "It all kind of snuck up on me," she shrugged.

She ignored Andy's suddenly smug look.

"Well, mom," Emily put her other hand on top of her mother's, "if anyone deserves to finally be happy, it's you."

Sharon looked at her daughter for a moment, suddenly rendered speechless. Arguing that she had been happy before would have been pointless. She knew what Emily meant just like she had known when they had talked the other day, too. The lump that got caught in her throat and the tears that started clouding her vision were as much a byproduct of being so content at the moment that she even found it impossible to describe it in words, as much as it was a byproduct of the renewed realization that, despite doing her best to shield her from it, Emily had still seen a fair share of some of the bad Sharon had gone through with Jack, whether it was while he was there or not.

Ricky's hand on her shoulder made her remember that he, too, had seen more than she would have liked, but it also brought her out of her musings. When she just looked at him, clearly not trusting herself to say anything, he pulled her into a hug. "You're supposed to smile, mom, not cry," he mumbled into her hair.

She swallowed when they pulled apart. Lifting her glasses slightly, she ran a finger underneath her eyes, wiping away any stray tears, and said, in a thick voice, "Happy tears." She even offered a watery smile.

"You made your grandmother cry, too," Bill informed them, looking rather touched himself, even if his words were an attempt at lightening the suddenly heavy mood.

"Don't mind me," Kate waved them off, busy erasing any traces of her own tears.

"You okay, Andy?" Emily suddenly asked, making Sharon throw him a worried look.

He was looking at them, a far away look on his face, a combination of both happiness and sadness in it. He only snapped out of his daze, when Sharon said, "Andy?"

"Huh?" he managed, then swallowed. "Yeah," he cleared his throat, "I'm fine." He shook his head, as if trying to shake off his own unexpected overwhelming feelings, and waved a hand at them dismissively.

"He's in love," Bill quipped, giving his wife a knowing look.

Emily and Ricky exchanged awkward looks, but before the mood could become uncomfortable Sharon snaked her arms around them, pulling them into a sideways hug. "I love you so much," she told them, squeezing them tightly while looking over Emily's head at Andy.

When he met her gaze and smiled, she could tell where his thoughts had gone.

He had just received another blessing he didn't know he wanted, and he was just as touched by it as she was.

 **TBC**


	9. Chapter 9 - How are you feeling?

**Chapter 9 - How are you feeling?**

The afternoon was marked by an exceptionally difficult goodbye for Sharon.

Her goodbyes with Emily and Ricky had always been hard and somewhat tearful, but parting with her parents had been even more so. Not surprising, since Emily and Ricky could always hop on a flight for a visit, work-permitting, of course, whereas traveling took a lot out of her parents even if they would always stubbornly deny it, and Sharon doubted they would ever make the trip to LA again.

It had also been entirely too long since the last time she had wrapped her arms around them or heard her dad call her 'Sharry' (which he only ever did in person) or had her mom push her buttons to rile her up. She hadn't even been aware of how much she'd missed those little things until she got them back for a few days. So naturally, she would only reluctantly give them up again.

Sharon had already turned into an emotional wreck when, while saying his goodbyes at the condo, her father had playfully warned Andy, "Don't make us regret leaving our little girl in your hands, son."

But when at the airport her father hugged her, mumbling into her ear, "Don't make us wait this long again, Sharry. We won't be around forever," she was ready to burst into desperate tears. She scolded her own children over their irregular visits whenever she got the chance, and yet _she_ was the child that hadn't seen her parents in nearly two years.

Her mother's goodbye wasn't any easier either. "You visit us soon, Sharon. We can only wait so long," she had told her over a tight hug.

Neither one of them were scolding her, they were merely reminding her of how precious time was, but that didn't stop her from feeling guilty. It was probably a morbid way of thinking, but, as her parents approached 90 faster than any of them really wanted to admit, she couldn't help but wonder how many chances of seeing them like this were left for her.

So, after exchanging her final _I love you_ s and _Have a safe trip_ s and finally making it back to the condo, of course she felt rather drained emotionally. She was even secretly glad that Rusty was out with Gus, having only been home long enough to see his siblings and grandparents off, and planned on staying at his place for the night.

That meant that the only one home at the moment was Andy. She knew, whether he noticed her mood or not (although chances were that he would), he would give her space to collect herself first. The knowledge alone that he would not hover over her made her feel just a little bit better. And for that she was already grateful.

...

He had expected it. The low that comes after every high. So when he saw her entering the condo and leaning against the door first, briefly taking a deep cleansing breath, before doing anything else, he wasn't surprised. Of course she would feel down for a bit.

They had a quiet dinner, with little to no conversation. He didn't force it on her either. They'd have plenty of time to talk once she figured out what she wanted to say. He insisted on clearing the table afterwards, all but shooing her out of the kitchen.

"Go," he had told her, waving a hand in the direction of the living room. "Brood over there, please," he had instructed her playfully.

When she had finally relented and dropped a kiss to his cheek before leaving the kitchen, he knew the gesture was her silent thank you, for both recognizing her state of mind and for dealing with it the way she wanted to. Because honestly, if it had been anyone else he would have been all over her, catering to her every need until she felt better. Only with Sharon, especially after the shooting, he had learned that that was simply the wrong approach. So even though it went against all his instincts (of which she was also very well aware), he let her be. For a while.

But when they finally retreated to their bedroom and settled into their bed he decided a 'while' had lasted long enough.

...

"Come here," Andy told her, reaching for her as she lay on her side, her back facing him.

She willingly scooted closer to him and let him wrap his arm around her, resting his hand on her stomach. He tucked his nose into her hair and asked, on a whisper even though there was no one there to overhear, "How are you feeling?"

She sighed and covered his hand with hers. "I miss them already," she told him, gliding her fingers over the top of his hand now.

He propped his head on an elbow, leaving his other hand in place, "Believe it or not, I do, too."

That had her roll over on her back. She turned her head slightly to look at him. "Really?" her voice went up with the doubt in it.

"Don't sound so surprised," he offered her a crooked smile. "They only just left and you're already depressed," he shrugged, "of course, I'd miss them."

She smiled, and he gave himself a mental pat on the back for a mission accomplished. "Yeah, that right there," he tilted his head slightly, indicating her smile, "there's more of that when they're around."

She slapped his hand that was still on her stomach, although as it so often happened the gesture resembled more a pat than an actual slap, and shook her head at him. He was well aware of the gibberish he was spewing at the moment and, since she was even more aware of the reason _why_ he was doing so, she finally said, "It just got me thinking."

She went quiet for a few moments then, obviously looking for the right words to say, so he stayed quiet, too, patiently waiting for her to go on.

"I don't see them often enough," she told him at last.

"Your parents?" Andy guessed.

"Mhm," she hummed regretfully.

"Well, whose fault is that?" Andy asked her and he had to chuckle at the offended look she gave him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked defensively.

"I'm just saying," he leaned down quickly to peck her cheek, "it's not like you _can't_ see them more often."

"Seeing them on a screen isn't the same, Andy," she told him, her tone of voice telling him she was not in the mood for jokes.

"That's not what I meant," he shook his head at her. "You can _visit_ them, Sharon." He quirked an eyebrow at her. "There's this little thing called vacation days."

She scoffed. "I can't just up and leave, take a few days off," she waved a hand through the air, "and ignore work."

Andy looked at her seriously. "Why not?" he asked, lifting his hand briefly in askance, too.

"Because," she started rather forcefully. "Because," she repeated, then promptly shut her mouth and narrowed her eyes at him. "Is this what you've been cooking up while I was, what did you call it, brooding?"

He nodded, grinning now. "But seriously, Sharon, give me one good reason why you can't just take a vacation, like normal people do?"

"Provenza," she said instantly, a smirk on her face.

"We were just fine before you took over, Captain, thank you very much," he told her teasingly. Before she could argue, he added, "Look, I know how, with you taking Rusty in, actual vacation would have been more of a pain than a pleasure. Then the letters happened, then Stroh escaped. Hell," he suddenly raised his voice, "even I had that damn blood clot! And then the shooting happened and then," he paused, looking away for a moment, "I had a heart attack." She offered him an understanding smile. "But is there something keeping you stuck at work now? _Really_?"

She sighed. "No," she admitted.

"Exactly," he punctuated the word with a kiss, to her lips this time.

"You know," her voice turned reminiscent now, "I don't really recall ever having a proper vacation." She turned on her side to prop herself on an elbow like he had, making sure to settle his hand on her side. "Didn't have much time for one either. Not between two kids, my job," she gave him a knowing look, "my ambition, and," she paused, a sad shadow crossing her features, "little to no Jack around."

"You did take Christmases off?" he asked, remembering her enthusiasm about visiting her parents from a few years ago.

"Whenever I could," she confirmed. "But then I started butting heads with your division," she gave him an amused smile, "and then I took over..."

He chuckled. "Sorry about that," he told her and meant it. "So you never took a summer vacation? You know, travel?" he asked, tapping his fingers lightly over her side.

"With two kids, a legal separation and debt up to my eyes?" she scoffed, but then actually answered his question. "I did travel across country a few times, but that was so long ago I barely remember any of it."

"You know," he told her, sounding reminiscent himself now, regretful even, as he looked down at his hand, "when I first got sober, I buried myself in work. When everything so spectacularly blew up in my face, working, in the beginning, was easier than dealing with anything else."

She offered him a sympathetic smile, and, understanding where he was going with this, said, "Work certainly was much more comfortable than having to face my separation or any other problems at the time." She took a moment to decide on her next words, "I didn't run away from them, mind you, and Emily and Ricky are _my world_ ," she told him proudly, "but work was sometimes a welcome reprieve from all the noise," she admitted on a guilty smile.

He nodded, agreeing. "Controlling things there was easier, too," he added.

She agreed but let out a bitter laugh, "Funny though, how, in the end, it was much more satisfying resolving all those problems I sometimes tried to distract myself from, than those at work." She gave him a pointed look. "And I really _love_ work."

He chuckled. "Don't forget the rules," he teased, "and don't get me started on laws," he added. When her laughter abated, he went on, more seriously now, "So, with Rusty more or less settled, work quiet, too, now," mentioning Taylor's still not permanently filled position wasn't necessary, since there was little to nothing they could do about that at the moment, "is there anything you need work to distract you from?" he asked.

When she stayed quiet for a moment, just watching him, he squeezed her side and added, "I don't plan on having another heart attack either." He considered the smile his words elicited from her another small accomplishment.

"You know, Emily accused me of having loosened up," Sharon suddenly told him, throwing him completely off course.

He gave her a puzzled look, but guessing that she was probably going somewhere with it, he prodded, "She did?"

"Mhm," she hummed, "and I think she's right," she admitted. There was mirth in her gaze as she looked at him.

"And is that a good or bad thing?" he asked, reaching out for her hand and wrapping his fingers around it.

She squeezed his hand and looked at it for a moment before looking up again. When she did, there was a bit of mischief in the look. "Well, you certainly are a better distraction than work," she told him, smiling now. "So, I think," she paused a moment, for effect probably, because she only continued when he raised a slightly impatient eyebrow at her, "that that's an excellent thing." She leaned closer to him and pecked him on the lips.

He laughed and shook his head at her in amusement. "Does that mean work isn't as important as it used to be?" he asked, sounding hopeful now.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "What we do will always be important," she told him unnecessarily, because of course, he thought the same. "Are you trying to talk me into retirement?" she then asked, warning in her voice as she did so.

His eyes widened, "What?" he asked defensively. "God, no!" he exclaimed. "I'm not even letting a heart attack force _me_ into retirement," he told her on an amused note, "and I sure as hell wouldn't retire willingly." He pinned her with a look of disbelief, "You think I'd be crazy enough to suggest it to _you_?"

She laughed then. "Well, I had to ask, because I know you," she gave him a pointed look and let go of his hand to point a finger at him, "and you are up to something."

He grinned at that, and grabbed her hand, "Well," he quirked an eyebrow, pressing a kiss to her finger, "maybe I am," he told her cryptically.

She pulled her hand back and pinned him with an intrigued look. "And would you care to let me in on it?" she asked.

"Well," he shrugged, "that depends."

She frowned. "On what?"

"On what your answer to my question is," he told her smugly.

Her frown only deepened, "Your ques-" she started before realizing what he was referring to. She grabbed ahold of his hand again. "No, I don't need work to distract me, anymore," she told him seriously, focused on his hand. "So maybe work isn't as important as it used to be either," she admitted, looking at him now. "Even if the work itself will always be," she added.

He smiled and nodded, completely understanding what she meant, happy that she agreed with him, too. "Well, in that case," this time he pulled his hand back, and turned quickly to reach for his phone, "I have something for you," he told her, busy searching for that 'something' on his phone.

When he found it, he scooted closer to her, but sat up against the headboard. When she did the same, he looked at her, "Need your glasses?" he asked.

She gave him a bland look. "Nearsighted, Andy," she told him curtly.

He chuckled. "Then take a look at this," he told her, handing over his phone.

She scrolled down the file he had pulled up for her, several times, before looking at him. "Andy," she let out feebly.

"Yes?" he asked, smiling broadly.

She dropped the phone onto the sheets and grabbed his face to kiss him. When they pulled apart, he told her, "It's not your parents." He shrugged apologetically, even though he was still smiling slightly.

"It's perfect," she told him, giving him another kiss.

"There's more," he told her, smirking now.

She just stared at him, her question etched in her face. "Ricky'll be there, too," he told her, grinning.

Her eyes widened. "How?"

"He loves you very much," Andy told her.

She rolled her eyes. "And?" she urged him on.

"And," Andy repeated pointedly, "he came up with a couple of extra days off." He shrugged then, "I don't think he'll get much sleep though, but he was more than happy to give some of it up for you."

She shook her head at him. "What about work?" she asked.

"I like to think I have an in with my boss," he told her, raising an eyebrow meaningfully before kissing her. "As for my boss," he gave her a conspiratorial look, "I know for a fact she's got a butt-load of vacation days at her disposal."

She snorted at his choice of words, then gave him a far-away look. "We're going to New York," she said.

He smiled, nodding. "But I'm not waiting for the ball to drop in the middle of Times Square," he warned her with the wave of a finger.

She laughed, "Oh, gosh, no." She shook her head. "I can wait for the New Year from the comfort of a bed if need be, trust me."

He laughed, too. "Well, I wouldn't go that far," he gave her a wicked grin, "not that I would mind," when her lips curved upward at the innuendo, he continued, "but Emily and Ricky will probably have other ideas."

She then gave him a questioning look. "Such as?"

He shrugged, "Apparently, that's a surprise, too."

His choice of words made her give him a funny look, but she decided to just ask, "Where are we staying?" next. Emily's place was even smaller than the condo, so that wasn't an option.

"Hotel. The kids' treat." Andy quipped. "Rusty's, too," he added, smiling widely when her face lit up at the information.

"Is he coming, too?" she asked.

"Well, no," he told her. "Plans with Gus, remember?"

"Right," she sounded slightly disappointed though.

"Can't be perfect," he shrugged.

"I love you," she suddenly told him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she told him before kissing him. "It _is_ perfect," she assured him when she pulled away.

"Oh," he laughed, "don't thank me." He raised an eyebrow. "I love you, too, but this surprise isn't from me," he told her. "It was a surprise for me, too," he added.

"What do you mean?" she asked, pulling away a bit more, but leaving her hands wrapped loosely around his neck.

"It was all their idea," he shrugged, "I only had to talk _you_ into it," he explained.

They had sprung the news on him earlier that day, while Sharon was helping her parents pack up in Rusty's room. In quick, hushed voices they let him in on their plan, or at least the parts of it he _needed_ to know about. They knew how difficult it could be to get their mother away from work, especially this unexpectedly, so even though it was all a surprise for Andy as well, they had given him enough details about it, so he could use them in his deliberations with Sharon.

"Conspiring against me," she accused, but laughed mirthfully.

" _For_ you," Andy corrected, dropping a quick kiss to her lips.

She sat back against the headboard again, but sought out his hand. When she entwined their fingers together she said, "They like you," speaking of Ricky and Emily.

"I like _them_ ," he told her honestly.

She hummed contentedly, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I'll put in for vacation tomorrow then," she finally said.

"Good," he told her, turning his head to press a kiss to her hair. "Provenza's gonna love being in charge for a few days," he said on a chuckle.

"I'll pay for it in paperwork, I'm sure," Sharon said sarcastically.

"Probably," Andy confirmed, laughing now.

"I don't like leaving the division short two members though," she said after a moment.

"We've got Nolan now, so, technically, they'll only be short one," he waved her off.

"Hmm," she didn't sound convinced. "Okay," she finally decided. "You did manage without me before," she added on a mischievous smile.

"We sure did," Andy agreed proudly.

"Barely," she added smugly, but he only scoffed.

He shrugged his shoulder after a moment of silence, nudging her to lift her head. When she did, he lay down again, on his back this time. "Join me?" he asked when she just remained seated, watching him.

"Of course," she said, leaning down to kiss him, before lying down as well, snuggling into him by resting her head on his shoulder and sneaking a leg between his as she all but wrapped herself around him.

"You know," Andy started once she had settled herself and he was able to wrap an arm around her, too, "don't know about the date, but as for the location of the wedding, I wouldn't mind figuring something out so your parents can be there."

"I know," she told him, because she did. It really was something Andy, of course, would suggest. "They can't make the trip though. I'll insist on our kids attending though," she said, and he could feel her smile even if he couldn't see it. "And since I expect the team there, too, it's only logical we get married here," she added.

"Our kids, huh?" Andy asked.

"Huh?" she asked, lifting her head to look at him. She considered his question for a moment, and when she finally processed it, she shrugged. "Yes, our kids," she confirmed.

He lifted his head slightly to reach her lips. "Our kids," he repeated, confirming it as well, before closing the small gap to kiss her.

"Maybe a honeymoon with them then?" Andy asked when they pulled apart.

Her eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "With my parents?" she asked, astonished.

He laughed, "Well not _with_ them," he clarified. "How about close enough _to_ them so we can pay them a visit though?" He grinned before adding, "Put those vacation days of yours to good use then."

She shook her head, and resettled it on his shoulder again. "I like that idea," she admitted.

"Then it's settled," he told her.

"Okay," she agreed, humming contentedly again.

"Feeling any better now?" he asked after a moment.

"Much better," she replied, tightening her hold on him briefly.

"Good," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Now go to sleep." He sighed. "We gotta get up for work tomorrow," he added on a groan.

Since they had worked on the previous two holidays, this year, their entire division got the 25th and 26th guaranteed off with Robbery/Homicide covering for them if something were to come up and, while he was grateful for the time off, he would have liked for it to have lasted longer, especially considering just how nice of a time off he ended up having.

She laughed, "Good night, Andy."

"Night, Sharon," he told her, closing his eyes.

He had almost drifted completely off, when her soft voice woke him, "Andy?"

"Huh?" was all he could manage as sleep still tried to pull him under.

"Merry Christmas," she whispered, and there was no mistaking the emotion she put into the words.

He smiled, and squeezed her more tightly to himself. "Merry Christmas, Sharon," he told her thickly, closing his eyes once more.

 **THE END/TBC?**

* * *

I never intended to write a wedding chapter, so I apologize to those of you who wanted one, but I'd expect the wedding after it's a bit more carefully planned out (what with Sharon's sense of occasion and all) and that takes time, and since I don't wanna make any huge time jumps here, I think it's better to just leave it at this.

I did however, consider writing a bit about Andy's (and Sharon's) visit to Nicole, Dean and the boys, or maybe even about their visit to New York, I'm not sure though. I certainly have plenty of ideas but...

Do you want me to keep this going for a few more chapters? If not, this seems like a nice place to stop then. :)

Whatever you decide, thank you for reading this, I love your reviews and, as always, it was a pleasure entertaining you!


	10. Chapter 10 - Tricks

Wow, your response was overwhelming! Okay then, let's see what happens at Nicole's. :)

Expect the next two chapters to be about Shandy's visit to Nicole, but after that I think I'll move on to their NYC visit.

Not making any promises though. I mean, I thought this would only be a 6 chapter story, and how did that turn out? XD

Anyways, thanks for the support! Hope you like this chapter! :)

* * *

 **Chapter 10 -** **Tricks**

"Grandpa!" two voices exclaimed as the front door swung violently open.

Sharon winced when the door noisily connected with the wall, but quickly joined Andy's wide smile when two boys, foregoing a proper greeting, each grabbed ahold of their hands and pulled them inside. Only then did the older of the two remember his manners and say, "Hi." sending both Sharon and Andy into a bout of amused laughter.

"Well, hello, there," Sharon told them, bending over slightly to peck each boy's cheek. They were barely a year apart, now almost 7 and 8, and while neither complained about kisses and hugs, the younger of the two, Joey, was the more affectionate one, and he kissed Sharon's cheek in return, while his brother, Ben, just offered a smile.

"Whoa," Andy groaned exaggeratedly as he lifted his youngest step-grandson in greeting. "Had a few too many Christmas cookies, huh?" he complained, bobbing the boy up and down playfully.

"Hi, grandpa, merry Christmas," Joey told him, hugging him and laughing at his complaint. Before Andy could reply the boy turned his head toward Sharon, "Merry Christmas!" he told her, before adding, mischievously, "Grandma."

While Sharon and Andy exchanged amused looks, Ben, shocked at the word, shouted, "Joey!"

"Sorry about that," Nicole interrupted before he could say more, turning the corner to enter the hallway. "Nice to see you," she told Sharon pulling her into a brief hug. "He was waiting all day to call you that," she said when they pulled apart.

Sharon shrugged, watching as Andy put Joey down again so he could say hello to his daughter. "I might as well start getting used to it," she told her, offering a warm smile.

"But you're not married yet," Ben said, looking at her. "Dad said not to call you that until then," he explained, puzzled that she wasn't upset.

"Let's find your dad then," she offered him a hand, and when he took hold of it, she continued, "and tell him I don't mind." She quirked an eyebrow at him, "What do you say?" she asked.

"Come on," Joey suddenly piped up, latching onto her other hand and already pulling her further into the house.

"He's in the kitchen," Ben informed her, pulling on her equally enthusiastically. He added, more tentatively, as if testing the word, "Grandma."

"Ben, Joey!" Nicole yelled after them, bringing them to a stop. "You didn't let Sharon take her jacket off," she scolded as their heads turned in unison to look at her.

But Sharon just waved her off, "Don't worry about it," she said, barely managing a reassuring smile before the boys resumed their efforts of leading her away.

Andy chuckled, watching them disappear out of the hallway. He slanted Nicole an amused look as he slipped his own jacket off. "Should I be jealous?" he asked her, hooking a thumb at the general direction Sharon and his grandchildren took off in.

Nicole smiled, shaking her head at him in amusement as she put his jacket away. "We better go find them," she told him, wrapping her hands around his arm, before going after them.

"What's Dean up to anyway?" Andy asked, following without protest. It wasn't like Dean to not greet them at the door. It was one of the things he really liked about the man, his impeccable manners.

"Dinner," she explained, waving a hand in front of them. "The timer went off just as the two of you walked in," she added. "I didn't even reach the sink to wash my hands," she laughed, shaking her head again, "when the boys all but teleported to the door."

"Eager little duo, aren't they?" Andy asked on a chuckle.

"Not surprisingly so," she nudged his shoulder, "when a certain someone promised presents."

"That I did," Andy admitted, proudly.

"Speaking of presents," Nicole mumbled, letting go of him, just as they stepped into the kitchen.

Andy's eyes grew wide and he stopped in his tracks. "Charlie?" he said in disbelief.

"Hi, dad," his son gave him an awkward wave from behind the counter where he stood. Next to him was Sharon, smiling broadly.

"Hi," Andy finally managed to move his feet, and he rounded the counter, to wrap his son in a hug. "I thought I wouldn't be seeing you till next year?" he said, pulling away.

In an eerily familiar gesture, Charlie rubbed a hand over the back of his head and shrugged. "Had a slight change of plans," he explained.

Andy just stared at him for a moment. "Slight change of plans," he mumbled, turning his head to Nicole, then back to his son, before finally seeking out Sharon.

When he fixed his eyes on her, he accused, "You!"

She just smirked at him. "Me?" she asked innocently, exchanging a knowing look with his daughter.

"I knew something was up!" Andy exclaimed.

He then suddenly noticed Dean at the far end of the kitchen and deflated instantly. "Hi, Dean," he quickly walked over to him to shake the man's hand. "Thanks for having us over."

"Hi, Andy," he smiled, "you know, you're always welcome here."

Andy nodded, completely serene now, but the moment he turned around he zeroed in on Sharon again. "I knew it!" he told her, pointing a finger at her.

They had a rather quiet day at work. Early in the morning they had been called out to a scene, but by midday their suspicious death in a fancy part of town turned out to be a suicide and therefore not a major crime. Sharon had been in an excellent mood all day, almost giddy, and, at first, he assumed she was looking forward to their weekend plans, but then, the closer they got to punching out the less giddy she became. Instead she turned fidgety. He had spent the last couple of hours in her office, going over some leftover paperwork just like the rest of the team, and she had checked her phone more times in those two hours than she usually did in two days. When he asked if something was up, she waved him off. When they finally punched out, her _relief_ (he didn't know what else to call it) was almost palpable. He especially found her secretive smiles suspicious as they got ready to head over to Nicole's, but every time he asked if something was going on, she either waved him off or confirmed just how happy she was at that moment. And since he, too, was happy, happier than he had been in forever, he had, foolishly as it turned out, believed her.

She snorted a laugh, then pinned him with a self-satisfied look. "Surprise," the word sounded almost like a taunt.

He narrowed his eyes at her briefly, but when his grandsons suddenly let out a much more enthusiastic "Surprise" as well, he instantly deflated again, and shook his head in amusement.

"Best Christmas ever," he mumbled looking between his children now, smiling warmly at them.

...

Over dinner, they explained to Andy how his surprise came about.

Charlie had only the previous night found out that his meetings for the week were cancelled and when he figured out he could be in LA by late afternoon the next day, Nicole invited him over for dinner and talked him into surprising his father. Nicole had then let Sharon in on it, hoping that she could make sure work did not interfere with their dinner plans, which wasn't exactly something she could control since crimes had a tendency of picking the worst possible timings, which in turn was why Sharon was practically giddy with excitement the entire day while also on edge, hoping their plans wouldn't be spoiled. And to make matters worse, Charlie's flight had then been delayed, which was why she had been obsessively, and suspiciously, checking her phone earlier, too.

As they neared the end of dinner however, it was the boys' turn to be on edge, or to be more precise, giddy with anticipation. Nicole was not lying when she pointed out they were promised presents.

They were the first to empty their plates, much to the amusement of their parents who more often than not had to go through tough negotiations to get them to eat what they were served. The impatient looks they threw at Andy's and Sharon's plates or exchanged between themselves did not go unnoticed either, causing amused smiles and smirks to pass the adults' faces every now and then.

When finally everybody else finished their dinner, poor Joey, couldn't hold it in anymore and practically begged, "Grandpa, can we move into the living room?"

When Ben expectantly looked at Andy in answer, there was no mistaking it that what they really wanted to know was if they could now get their presents.

Dean opened his mouth, probably to tell them off for being so impatient, but Andy just waved him off. "Somebody's gotta spoil these little guys," he told him, getting to his feet. "Come on you two," he tilted his head toward the living room. "I heard your grandma's got a surprise for you," he informed them, throwing Sharon an amused, but pointed look.

Sharon closed her eyes briefly and shook her head at him, getting to her feet now as well. "Better go fetch it then," she told the table. "Excuse me," she added before following Andy and the two little ones. She needed to get the presents from the car, where they had decided to keep them safe in case the boys' curiosity got the better of them.

When she walked into the living room, armed with the promised presents, Charlie and Dean were each sitting in one of the armchairs, Nicole perched on the armrest next to her husband, while Ben and Joey sandwiched Andy in on the couch.

"What about your dad though?" Andy was asking them. Ben and Joey were busy showing off the handmade gift they gave Nicole.

"Oh," Joey suddenly gave his father a wide-eyed look. "Er," he turned to his brother, who was putting the plaque back on the coffee table, but he only shrugged. "Next year," he finally said, nodding his head.

Ben caught his drift and nodded as well. "Yeah, dad, you get a plaque next year."

Both Dean and Nicole laughed. "It's a deal then," their father told them.

However, the boys did not register his words because they spotted Sharon rounding the couch so their attention instantly turned to her. When she reached them, Ben climbed into Andy's lap to make room for her as well.

Joey slanted his parents a look and, when they nodded, he got to his feet and started walking between the couch's back and Andy, who had to scoot away a bit to give him room to maneuver. When he reached Sharon, he put one hand on her shoulder, the other one on Andy's, wiggling his eyebrows impatiently at them. Ben, still seated on Andy's lap, pinned them with a similar look.

When everybody else started laughing at them, they both frowned at them and asked in unison, "What?"

Andy bounced Ben on his knee, chuckling. "Nothing," he said. He then slanted Sharon a look and asked, "Wanna do the honors?"

She smiled and reached into the bag she brought. She pulled out two small wrapped packages, handing them over to the boys at the same time.

Ben eagerly started pulling at the paper, while poor Joey realized that standing squeezed in between Sharon and Andy and the couch probably wasn't his smartest decision. Sharon offered him a smile though, scooting sideways a bit to pull him onto her own lap, even offering to help him unwrap the package.

"Huh?" Ben let out, not at all impressed, when he found out what was wrapped up.

His parents burst into silent laughter when his brother joined him in his disappointment, looking equally unimpressed. When they both just waved the thing at them, their laughter stopped being so silent.

"Not a Dodgers fan?" Charlie asked them, snickering from his chair.

"Grandpa," Joey said, ignoring his uncle, "this is not what you promised us," he complained, sounding utterly disappointed.

"Yeah," Ben agreed, frowning, inspecting his gift as if willing it to turn into something else. "Baseball caps," he said, giving both Sharon and Andy a bland look. "Really?"

"Now, Ben," Dean warned, giving him a stern look.

"That's not what you say when you get a present," Nicole reminded them.

Ben gave his parents an annoyed look, that turned even more annoyed when Charlie laughed at him, but offered Sharon and Andy a quiet, not at all grateful, "Thank you," before hopping off Andy's lap and scurrying over to his parents.

Joey looked at his cap, then at his mom and dad, then at his cap again, disbelief evident. He put the cap on and shrugged. "Thanks," he said, getting off Sharon's lap to walk over to his uncle. Like his brother, he sounded anything but thankful.

"Hmm," Andy let out, shrugging. He made a show of pulling out another present, a thin, gold envelope this time, and looked at Sharon. "They don't like it," he told her, feigning surprise.

"It would seem so," Sharon said, sounding equally surprised. "And here I thought, the caps would go great with those," she added, tapping her fingers over the envelope.

"You didn't!" Ben suddenly said, sounding shocked now. He had, of course, closely followed their exchange.

"Did what?" Andy asked, feigning ignorance.

Joey reached Sharon again. "Did you?" he asked quietly, carefully optimistic.

When Sharon quirked an eyebrow, Ben pushed himself off his father, where he had gone to seek comfort, and gave his brother a wide-eyed look. "They did," he told him, a grin spreading over his features.

"Did what?" Andy asked, leaning back on the couch and crossing his legs, careful to display the envelope on top of his knee.

Joey walked past Sharon and reached for the envelope, his curiosity getting the better of him, when Nicole warned, "Ah-uh," making him stop mid-movement.

He got the hint and pulled his hand back, folding them neatly behind his back. "Can I?" he directed his question at Sharon.

Sharon gave Andy a mischievous smile, making him narrow his eyes at her. "On one condition," she told Joey, ignoring her fiance.

Joey gave her a surprised look. "What?"

"Come here," she bent a finger beckoning him closer. "You, too, Mister," she told Ben who was hovering now next to Andy.

When they both reached her, she whispered something into their ears, then leaned back like Andy. "Do we have ourselves a deal?" she asked them, smiling in amusement at them.

The two boys exchanged a look, then nodded. "Yes," Ben confirmed.

"Alright then," she waved a hand at them, "go on."

Andy gave her a curious look, but handed the envelope over anyway. "Be careful," he warned them, when they started tearing at the paper a bit too eagerly.

After a bit of fumbling with it and finally exposing the envelope's contents, Ben, the faster reader of the two, gave Joey a smug look. "Told ya!" he grinned at him, but Joey was still busy reading.

A moment later though, he looked up and grinned as well. They stared at each other for another moment, obviously too shocked at the revelation, but when Sharon cleared her throat their heads snapped back at her. Within another second they both sprung into action, almost jumping up on the couch and onto Andy.

Before Andy even knew what hit him, the boys were on his lap, shoulder to shoulder, trying to wrap their arms around him, while pressing a kiss each into one of his cheeks.

They all laughed at the display, although Nicole tried to calm them down with a rather feeble, "Hey, be careful, guys." When Sharon even snorted at them, the boys however, turned their focus to her, and, catching her off guard just like they had Andy, they all but jumped into her lap, repeating their earlier process.

She let out a surprised "Oh," at the unexpected onslaught, but didn't hesitate wrapping her own arms around them.

Andy laughed before muttering smugly under his breath, "Serves you right."

When Sharon, who, of course, heard him, glared at him, albeit in amusement, Nicole, Charlie and Dean burst into laughter.

"Will you tell us what you got?" Dean asked, in an attempt of distracting the boys from completely crushing Sharon.

It worked and they both turned around to look at him, making themselves comfortable on top of Sharon's thighs now. "Tickets, dad," Ben told him excitedly.

"Like he promised," Joey added, giving his mom a look.

"Ballet tickets?" Charlie asked, holding back a grin.

Joey scoffed and gave him an exasperated look. "No, uncle Charlie," he waved the tickets through the air. "Grandpa and ballet?" he asked, laughing.

"True," Charlie agreed, chuckling. "But I thought Sharon liked ballet," he added, giving her an amused look.

Joey looked at her, too, but she only smiled at him. "Well," he started, sounding unsure now, "she does," he told his uncle, returning his focus to him.

"But you like baseball, too, right?" Ben asked Sharon. "Football, too," he added, looking at Andy briefly. "Grandpa said so."

"Oh, I love baseball and football," she confirmed, giving them a bright smile.

"So?" Charlie prodded.

Ben gave him an exasperated look, "It's Dodgers tickets, uncle Charlie!" He exchanged a look with his brother, as if not believing that he actually had to spell it out for him.

"What's 'Dodgers'?" Nicole asked, failing miserably at keeping a straight face.

Ben shot her an unimpressed look, seeing clearly through them now. "Don't make fun of us," he told them seriously. "This is baseball," he told them, waving his hands through the air, sending them all into another fit of laughter.

At the first chance he got, Andy showed them the ropes of baseball. Not because he had anything against ballet and dancing, but because he was clueless about ballet, so in the hopes of finding some common interests with the boys he gave baseball a try. And with that he hit the jackpot. They went to a game with him, had even caught a stray ball, and after that they were hooked. They'd been pestering him for more tickets for months now, and in the end Andy had promised they'd not only get tickets but they'd get season tickets for Christmas, too.

That had however, been a rashly given promise at the time, since the tickets weren't even on sale yet. They weren't exactly cheap or easy to come by either. And to make matters worse, to even get a chance of buying them you needed to put your name on a waiting list and then just hope for the best. However, Sharon knew a name or two in the business and had pulled some strings, and, after paying an arm and a leg for them (Sharon insisted on chipping in though), he was able to keep his promise.

"Exactly," Andy backed him up, looking sternly at his kids and Dean. "Baseball is no laughing matter." He gave Dean, who wasn't into the sport at all, a pointed look.

They pulled themselves together then, if barely. "You're right, dad," Nicole admitted, giving her stepsons a warm look.

"Man," Joey started, dragging the word out, "you tricked us," he told them, but shook his head at Sharon in disbelief. Apparently he did not expect that kind of behavior from her of all people.

"You got the tickets, didn't you?" Andy told him.

"Yeah," he admitted, pouting though, "but that was really rude, grandpa."

Sharon stifled a laugh behind them. "Well," she told the both of them after a moment, and she had to lean her head back slightly when they turned theirs to look at her, "you got tickets _and_ caps. How is that rude?"

Ben shook his head at her. "Shar-, I mean grandma," he corrected himself all too happily, making Andy grin at Sharon, "the _caps_ are not rude," he told her seriously, in the most matter-of-fact tone a child his age could probably even muster, "but you let us think grandpa broke his promise," he went on, on a whine almost, "that's rude!"

Joey next to him folded his arms, still pouting, but looking at his grandfather. "That was not nice, you know," he told him.

Andy exchanged a quick, knowing look with their parents, then smiled crookedly at the two boys. "So, should I give these," he snatched the tickets out of Joey's grasp, "to say," Andy looked around the room, "uncle Charlie?" He tilted his head at them and gave them a pointed look. "He just _loves_ the Dodgers."

"What?" Ben asked, looking alarmed now, climbing off Sharon's lap and into Andy's. "No," he said, trying to reach the tickets, but Andy held his hand up too high.

"No, no, no," Joey added, unfolding his arms and carefully hopping off Sharon's lap. He took two steps toward Andy, then folded his arms again, and gave him a defiant look. "You promised, now hand them over!" he ordered, reaching a hand out and wiggling his fingers, silently reiterating his command.

"Joey," Nicole warned, getting to her feet, not at all appreciating his tone of voice.

But Joey was rather agitated now. He turned on his heel and pinned her with an angry look. "What, mom?" he asked her. "He did promise!"

"Yeah," Ben added in support, but kept looking at Andy. "You didn't change your mind, grandpa?" he asked, worried suddenly.

"No," Andy assured him, no trace of his earlier mocking in the word. "You," he pulled him into a hug, "and your brother," he looked at him when he turned around, no longer directing his ire at his mother, "will be spending a lot of time at the Stadium with me," he told them. When he pulled back he winked, "I was trying to trick you again."

Ben groaned, but then suddenly a mischievous smile quirked his lips upwards. "You owe us extra hot dogs for that!" he told him, pointing a finger at him.

Nicole sat back down next to Dean, offering the heavens a look, probably thinking she ought to scold her father instead of her children. Dean patted her knee in comfort while smiling at the scene that was unfolding itself in front of them.

Andy pretended to think about it, then asked Sharon. "What do you think? Does that sound fair to you?"

She considered it for a moment, too, then reached out a hand for Joey to pull him back onto her lap. "Yes, Andy, I think that sounds very fair," she finally said.

"Hell, yeah!" Ben suddenly happily exclaimed.

"Ben," Nicole all but screeched at him, but when Ben just looked at her genuinely innocently, she deflated. Yes, she should definitely scold her father and not her sons.

When Andy laughed at her, Sharon glared at him, sharing Nicole's sentiments apparently. Taking her hint he gave Ben a stern look. "Now, I don't know who you heard that from," he said, shaking a finger at him, suppressing a smirk at the eye roll the sentence elicited from Sharon and Nicole, "but that's not a polite thing to say."

Taken aback by the sudden strict words, Ben's eyes widened. "Uh, sorry, I didn't know," he said apologetically. "But you say stuff like that all the time, grandpa," he added, becoming even more confused when everyone but Andy and Joey started laughing again.

"Well," Andy started, pointedly ignoring the now amused looks that were aimed at him, "it's a grown-up thing to say, so don't do it again, okay?"

Ben frowned for a second but finally agreed. "Okay, I won't," he promised.

"Grandma?" Joey suddenly piped up, looking at Sharon, before turning his attention to Andy, too, and adding, "Grandpa?"

"Yeah?" Andy responded for the both of them.

"Thank you," he said simply, cearly stuck in his own world, instead of worrying about his brother's language.

Now Andy frowned. "What for?"

"Well, for the tickets, silly!" Joey explained, sending another ripple of laughter through the room.

 **TBC**

* * *

There should be more of Charlie and Nicole in the next chapter!


	11. Chapter 11 - Milestone

**Chapter 11 - Milestone**

After Sharon and Andy exchanged presents with Nicole, Dean and Charlie, too (Sharon had, of course, managed to come up with a little something for Andy's son as well, despite the short notice of his attendance), and a bit more of the boys' entertaining them, even though it was barely 8 pm, after the evening's excitement, the two little guys seemed beat and now lay on top of Sharon and Andy.

Each of the boys had their legs draped over one of the armrests of the couch, Joey's head resting in Andy's lap and Ben's in Sharon's. Clutched in Ben's hands were the tickets they had gotten earlier. They were silently snoring away, oblivious to the hands of their grandparents that absentmindedly caressed their leg, arm or hair every now and then, or to the conversation that had finally shifted from them to more adult topics.

"So have you made any plans for the wedding?" Dean was asking them.

Andy and Sharon exchanged a look. "Not yet," he shrugged.

"But probably not until we move into the house," Sharon added, the thought occurring to her only just then.

Andy gave her a surprised look at the new piece of information, but nodded almost immediately, agreeing.

"The house?" Nicole inquired. She was no longer perched on the side of the armchair next to her husband but had instead made herself comfortable on a small bean bag between the couch and the chair.

"Oh," Andy rubbed a hand over the back of his head guiltily. "I forgot to tell you." He gave Sharon an even guiltier look. "We bought the house. You know, the one I mentioned a few weeks ago."

Nicole's eyebrows shot up, "But I thought your offer didn't go through?"

"It didn't, but Sharon," he nudged her shoulder, careful not to stir either one of his grandsons awake, "surprised me."

At his daughter's still puzzled look, Sharon clarified, "The buyers changed their minds so the realtor offered it to us again."

"Sharon figured it all out and surprised me with the news on Christmas morning." He smirked at her. "Nearly gave me a heart attack when I saw the papers!" he added on a chuckle.

Only Dean laughed, whereas Charlie, Nicole and Sharon barely managed a smile at his lame joke. When he shrugged defensively at Sharon, she addressed Nicole, ignoring him. "You're all invited over the moment we move in."

"Oh," Nicole clasped her hands together, "I'll take you up on that, don't worry," she laughed.

"We can also lend a hand with the moving," Dean said, looking at his wife for confirmation.

She instantly nodded, "Yeah, if you need help, just holler," Nicole told them.

"Thank you," Sharon replied, glancing over at Andy.

"Yeah, we'll see," he told them, smiling in thanks.

Charlie cleared his throat then, getting their attention. "Not to pry, dad," he looked at the woman next to him and added, "Sharon." He looked pointedly at her hand. "But I don't see an engagement ring anywhere."

Sharon laughed and waved him off. "Well, your father had to improvise," she told him, slipping off the ring he had given her. She did not have it refitted yet. "This is my engagement ring," she turned it around and put it between two fingers to show it to them.

Dean laughed. "Why would you improvise an engagement ring?" he sounded genuinely confused.

"May I?" Nicole asked, before Andy could respond, and held out a hand in front of Sharon, who gladly planted the ring on top of her palm.

"You have to, when your girlfriend," he gave said girlfriend, fiancee actually, an exasperated look, "only decides she wants to get married again, after you already come up with different plans."

This time Charlie's eyebrows shot up, but judging by the confused expressions on Nicole's and Dean's faces, he wasn't the only one not understanding what his father was talking about.

"I promise," Nicole suddenly said, having made out the engraving. She then looked up, "Decide to want to get married?" she asked, frowning. "Oh," she gave Sharon a wide-eyed look, probably guessing what he meant by that, "I'm sorry, don't mind me," she waved a hand at herself, "that's between you two, I know," she quickly said.

"It is," Sharon confirmed but gave her a warm smile as she reclaimed the ring and slipped it back on her finger. "But it's not exactly a secret either," she added, giving Andy a warm look. "Your dad's getting soft in his old age, you know," she told Nicole mischievously.

Andy just rolled his eyes, when Nicole laughed, while Dean and Charlie chuckled. "I try to be romantic, and she calls me soft," he told them, hooking a thumb at Sharon. "Can you believe it?"

"Not really," Charlie admitted, giving his father a slightly amused look, but sounding rather serious.

"Uh," Andy looked at him, rubbing a hand over his head again. Deciding it was best to just explain what happened, he said, "Well, I wanted to make Sharon a promise since marriage wasn't on the table for her," he gave Nicole a quick look, "something we actually discussed months ago," he explained. "You know, do something at least slightly more official, what with her family all there for a visit," he shrugged. "So I came up with the ring, so we can match," he raised his right hand to indicate his sobriety ring. "And then when I give it to her, she tells me she changed her mind." His voice went up as if saying "Can you believe it?" again.

Both Dean and Nicole smiled widely at them. "Well, soft or not, that's great news, congratulations!" Nicole told them, while Dean nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," Sharon and Andy said but at the same time Charlie quietly asked, "What made you change your mind?"

It drew a surprised look from Sharon, but painted worried ones on Andy's, Nicole's and even Dean's faces. After a moment of considering the younger version of Andy in front of her, she just shrugged and smiled mirthfully. "Your dad," she told him simply, clasping Andy's hand and giving it a supportive squeeze.

"Hm," was all Charlie let out as he mulled over her answer. He gave his sister a quick look before shifting his attention to Sharon again. "Yeah, he's good at that," he finally said, smiling warmly now. "He changed my mind, too," he added, slanting a meaningful look at his father.

Andy's eyes widened, and he swallowed when his son's words sunk in. "Took me long enough," he muttered, sounding regretful, meeting his son's gaze.

"Me, too," Charlie admitted, a note of regret in his voice, too. "I'm stubborn," he added, then quirked an eyebrow, suddenly smirking in an eerily Andy-like fashion, as he gave him a long look. "Take after my father, I think," he told him.

Nicole rolled her eyes and shook her head at him, but had to smile a watery smile when her father said, thickly, "I missed you, son."

Charlie nodded, looking at him almost absentmindedly. "Missed you, too, dad," he agreed finally, pinning him with a look to show he meant it.

The rather heavy moment was broken when Andy heard Sharon take a long, probably unintentionally, loud breath. When he looked at her and noticed a sheen of tears in her eyes, he squeezed her hand and grinned. "Quite the roller coaster we're on this week, huh?" he asked her.

"Oh, hush," she waved a hand at him, blinking a few times, trying to collect herself again.

He grinned at her again and pulled her into a sideways hug, as much as it was possible with the two boys in their laps, and whispered against her ear, careful to have only her hear him, "Thank you."

For being happy for him, for loving him and his kids, for the Sharon effect, as his daughter dubbed it, she knew, so she squeezed his hand in welcome.

"So back to that wedding of yours," Nicole said, steering the conversation to lighter topics, "need a planner?" she asked, all but offering herself for the task as she wiggled her eyebrows at them.

Sharon let out a laugh, pulling out from Andy's embrace, while his heart probably dropped into his stomach as his eyes widened in horror. "Planner?" he repeated, feebly.

"Oh," Sharon came to his rescue, "it'll be a small affair." She waved a hand through the air. "Just a small reception after the ceremony, I think," she added, giving Andy a reassuring look. "You're invited, of course," she told Nicole. "All of you," she clarified, giving her husband and brother a look, too.

"That's right," Andy confirmed, visibly more relaxed now.

"Well, just tell us when and where," Dean said, exchanging a quick look with Nicole, "and we'll be there."

"Me, too," Charlie said.

"Don't forget these two guys," Sharon added, patting Ben's knee and looking over at Joey.

Nicole laughed, "Like they'd let us go without them!"

"We'd not let you _come_ without them," Andy warned, grinning crookedly at his daughter.

"It's a plan then," Nicole confirmed.

"Can't wait," Andy said, smiling at Sharon.

...

"Oh, I hate to move them," Sharon said, carefully removing the tickets out of Ben's still firm grasp.

"I don't wanna wake them either," Andy told her. "But I gotta admit, I'm starting to lose feeling in my right thigh."

"Don't worry about it," Nicole told them, getting over to Sharon's side to pick up Ben, while Dean scooped Joey into his arms.

"They sleep like logs," Dean added.

"See," Nicole said when Ben only mumbled something incoherently in his sleep but settled down again after snuggling into her hold. "Fireworks wouldn't wake them up now."

They had continued talking for maybe another hour before Andy and Sharon finally announced that they should take their leave. Nicole tried insisting they stay longer (after all, 9:30 pm wasn't that late even if it was well past the boys' bedtime), but neither Andy nor Sharon could be persuaded, citing instead an early work day and possible unexpected roll outs as excuses.

"We'll be right back," Dean told them, following Nicole upstairs and into his sons' bedroom.

"I should probably get going too," Charlie said, getting to his feet. "I've had a long day."

By the time Dean and Nicole returned, the three of them were already in the hallway, busy putting on their jackets.

"Where's your car?" Andy asked Charlie, only now realizing he hadn't seen it parked in his daughter's driveway.

"Hid it in the garage," his son informed him, smirking.

"Of course you did," Andy shook his head in amusement.

"Got everything?" Sharon asked him, waiting readily at the door for him.

"Yeah," Andy told her, turning to Dean and extending his hand to him. When he took it, he said, "Thanks for dinner."

"Any time," Dean told him, then moved to say goodbye to Sharon.

"I'll walk you to your car," Nicole said, opening the door for them.

After exchanging one last look with Dean, Sharon and Andy walked out. Charlie, who couldn't leave until they did since he was parked in by Andy's car, followed them.

Nicole wrapped her arms around her father, surprising him when she held on just a bit more tightly and longer than usually. When she got out of his embrace, at his equally surprised look, she just shrugged. "I'm really happy for you," she told him, giving Sharon a quick look, too. She had already bid goodbye to Charlie and was now standing next to the passenger door.

Andy settled his own gaze on Sharon and smiled warmly. "Me, too," he said.

When Nicole rounded the car to pull Sharon into a hug, too, he didn't hear her when she quietly told her, "I know you don't believe in the Sharon effect, but thank you. We owe you a lot," she glanced at her brother, "whether you agree or not."

So when Andy noticed the rather watery smile Sharon gave Nicole when they pulled apart, he had no idea what that was about. He only managed to make out Sharon's rather resigned sounding "You're welcome."

"Bye, dad," Charlie told him, approaching him. When Andy wrapped his arms around him in a hug, he happily returned the gesture.

"Thanks for the surprise," Andy told him. "I really didn't like the idea of not seeing you until next year," he admitted when they ended the hug.

"Yeah?" Charlie rubbed a hand over the back of his head. "Maybe I didn't like it either," he shrugged, briefly lifting an eyebrow, too.

Andy just smiled, but then asked something that had actually crossed his mind an hour or so ago. "Did I really change your mind?" He couldn't hide the concern in his voice.

Charlie smiled at him, giving Nicole and Sharon, who were rather obviously following their exchange, a quick look. "Yeah, dad, you did." He lifted the corner of his mouth and an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly. "You can stop walking on eggshells around me."

Andy's entire face lit up. "Okay," he acknowledged, touched by what he knew his son was trying to let him know. "I'll try not to disappoint you again, son," he promised.

Charlie frowned. "I don't think I was ever really disappointed in you, dad," he said, and before Andy could offer a response, he quickly added, "Just pissed off at you."

Andy's eyebrows shot up but he sounded genuinely apologetic when he spoke. "I'm sorry."

Charlie just chuckled at him. "I know, dad." He locked eyes with his sister before adding, "Trust me, I know." When he continued, he sounded as apologetic as Andy. "Sorry for, uh, making this so difficult, but I promise, you don't have to prove yourself to me anymore. I believe you."

"About time," Nicole suddenly said, walking over to her brother.

It had taken her a lot less time than Charlie to recognize her father's efforts and to decide to just try and focus on possible better times with him instead of the past bad ones.

However, Charlie was, like he had just said, pissed off, too angry with his father for what he had done in the past to appreciate what he was trying to do in the present. Things were better, constantly improving, and she knew her brother was making an effort, too, but truthfully, she was getting a little tired of the entire situation. On the one hand, there was her father carefully weighing his every move around Charlie, while on the other hand, her brother seemed to be waiting for the other shoe to drop, putting a damper on things even when they seemed to be going really well.

It was a relief to have the constant tentative air around them finally lift like this, because it had kept them all slightly on edge, not just Charlie or Andy.

"I'll never stop though," Andy told both Charlie and Nicole seriously.

Charlie didn't look like he had a response to that, so Nicole decided to intervene before things became too emotional. "You can continue then by not forgetting to tell us your wedding date when you settle on one."

She smirked when both Andy and Charlie started laughing, relaxing now. "Don't worry," Andy slanted a look at Sharon, who was smiling at them, leaning against the side of his car, " _that_ I won't forget."

"Good," Nicole told him, giving him a hug again, a brief one this time.

"I'll text you when we get home," Andy told her, finally unlocking the car.

"Okay," she nodded, watching both him and Sharon as they slipped into the car.

"I love you," Andy told both of his children before closing the door.

When they smiled at him, he did, too. He then turned the car on, and pulled out of the driveway.

...

"Yes?" Sharon drawled.

She was sitting, leaning against the headboard under the covers of her bed, checking on her emails on the phone. Her question was directed at Andy.

He had come out of the bathroom, flopped down on the bed on top of the covers and was now lying on his stomach, head propped on both his hands, his legs bent, crossed at his ankles as he gently swayed them through the air while watching her.

Instead of giving her an answer, he grinned. She quirked an eyebrow at him, considered him for a moment. He looked content and rather adorable with the way the corners of his eyes crinkled. Deciding to put her phone down on the nightstand she finally directed her entire attention to him.

He grinned again and raised himself up only high enough to reach for her hips and move her down the bed a bit. She quirked an eyebrow again but offered no protest. When she was more lying down than sitting, Andy moved between her covered legs, careful not to crush her with the weight of him, and, folding his hands over her stomach, rested his chin on top of them.

He looked up, grin now gone, and said, "Tonight was a milestone." The words practically oozed with his unhidden joy.

She ran a hand through his hair affectionately. "It was," she agreed in a soft voice.

"Did Nicole say something to you?" he asked, leaning into her touch slightly.

She smiled and looked away for a moment, considering how to answer that. "She accused me of the Sharon," she rolled her eyes, "effect again."

"And you told her she was welcome?" he said, referring to the only bit of the exchange he overheard.

"She is," she confirmed, rubbing a thumb over his forehead, smoothing out the lines that formed there when he frowned.

"That's awfully cryptic of you," Andy grumbled, lightly tapping the fingers of one of his hands over her abdomen, as if to highlight his dissatisfaction with her answer.

Sharon let out a soft laugh, jostling Andy as it went through her. "Your daughter just appreciates your efforts, Andy," she told him honestly.

"Accused you of having something to do with it?" he said, smirking now. The words weren't really a question.

She rolled her eyes again. "You two give me entirely too much credit for everything.

"Only giving credit where credit is due," Andy retorted. "Ah!" he warned when she geared up to protest.

He shrugged and went on to elaborate. "I know it was me, and Nicole, and Charlie," he named his son on a smile, "but you being there," whether at the wedding or any other subsequent outings, there was no need to define 'there', "did pique their interest initially."

He lifted his chin briefly to pull out a hand from under it, and reached for her hand. "Seeing that someone like you would pay _me_ _any attention_ ," he stressed the last three words by widening his eyes as if in disbelief about the mere notion of it, "finally made them actually _look_ at _me_." He wrapped his fingers around hers. "You know, to notice who I am now, and not who I was 15-20 years ago." He pulled her hand closer and softly kissed the tip of one her fingers.

"Andy," she started, but he squeezed her hand in a silent plea to let him get it all out.

"You didn't _do_ _much_ , fine," he relented. "But it _was_ a _lot_ , okay?" He pushed himself up, moving himself upwards, stopping to hover just above her lips. "And that means the world to me," he told her before pressing a kiss to them.

Not letting go of his hand, she moved her other hand into his hair and pulled him closer to herself, deepening the kiss.

When they pulled apart, he stayed close enough so that their noses were almost touching and smiled. Finally, letting go of his hand, she reached for his face and cradled it between her hands. His smile widened when she gently rubbed her fingers against his temples. "I am so happy for you," she told him thickly, pecking him quickly on the lips. "You've earned it, Andy," she added, kissing him quickly again. "All of it," she stressed, before kissing him properly.

"And you're welcome, too," she told him when they remembered their need for air, running a hand through his hair again. "You'll always be," she added on a smile.

"Come here," he suddenly said, a gravelly quality to his voice now, rolling over to his back, while reaching for her hand and pulling her with him. She let out a surprised yelp but settled willingly on top of him, ignoring the now tangled comforter between them.

He caressed her sides, before taking hold of her left hand. "I can't wait to put a ring on there," he told her, moving his other hand to run its fingers over hers.

"You know," she started, her voice going unusually high, making him look up at her, knowing instantly that she was going somewhere unexpected with that particular tone of voice, "I don't think I want to have this resized," she told him, wiggling the little finger of her right hand.

"How come?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

She shrugged. "I do want proper wedding bands," she gave him a pointed look, adding, "so we'll have to pick those out." She splayed her right hand over his chest to look at her improvised engagement ring. "But I like this one just as it is." She met his gaze and smiled. "It's more you," she explained, offering his chest a gentle caress.

He gave her a crooked smile, but let out a thoughtful hum. He absentmindedly ran his hands over her arms, deciding on his next words. "I thought about adding a rock to it when we had it refitted," he told her. She raised an eyebrow at him, clearly telling him she did not find that necessary, so he added, shrugging, "I wanted to."

It was true, having a small diamond added to the band when they took it for resizing was one of the first things that crossed his mind when he realized his impromptu engagement ring fit the wrong finger.

"Don't," she told him probably a bit more forcefully than planned because she leaned down to peck him on the lips briefly. "It's perfect just as it is," she assured him.

"It's not," he disagreed, not letting her pull completely away back to her earlier straddling position. He gripped her sides, urging her down again. When she lowered herself, he told her "But _you_ are." before kissing her again.

She scoffed into his kiss and moved away by lightly pressing her hands against his chest to give him an unimpressed, almost bland look.

He only smirked though. "For me," he corrected himself and lifted his head a bit so he could capture her lips in another kiss.

This time she offered no complaint and instead, kissed him eagerly back. "You, too," she told him, interrupting them only for the briefest of moments before resuming their kiss again.

When Andy, more gently this time, rolled them over again, letting both his hands and lips go on a purposeful search of skin-to-skin contact as he hovered over her, they knew they would not be interrupting each other again any time soon.

 **TBC**

* * *

Hope you liked this. Don't expect any updates though until next year! ;) I'll hopefully move on to their NYC visit then.

I wish you all a very happy New Year! See you in 2017! :D


	12. Chapter 12 - Worries

Hello! I hope 2017 started out great for you! :)

Here's my next chapter for you. It's a silly one. Both because of the humor and some of the concerns addressed in it. I hope you have fun reading it!

* * *

 **Chapter 12 - Worries**

The rest of the week went by in a blur. A double homicide kept them thoroughly distracted from the excitement of their upcoming trip but it also kept Sharon on edge when, by Thursday evening, they were no closer to making an arrest in their case.

Their flight for New York was leaving on Friday afternoon and Andy was in the middle of trying to ease her worries as they sat on the couch in their living room with Sharon buried under a pile of papers.

"We still have tomorrow," he was telling her as he was extracting the files from her grasp. When he safely, making a show of it, too, deposited them onto the coffee table, he pinned her with an almost exasperated look. "And even if we're still running in circles tomorrow, Provenza and the rest of the team," he placed his hands over hers, when she made an attempt at getting to the papers again, and looked at her pointedly, "can handle it."

She gave up then and leaned against the back of the couch. She smiled and finally relenting, said, "Fine, you're right."

He smirked, "I know."

When she shook her head at him and rolled her eyes, he grinned and asked, "Can we go to bed now, please?"

In return she first smiled wickedly at him, then quipped, "No."

When his eyes went wide, she laughed. "Why not?" he was almost pouting. It was nearly 11 pm and he was really looking forward to meeting the comfort of a mattress. The case was exhausting and they certainly needed the rest for both work and their flight tomorrow.

"I need to finish packing," she told him, smiling still.

He rolled his eyes and got up. "We're barely staying there for 3 days, Sharon," he mumbled, walking toward their bedroom, "what else is there to pack?" She had already packed both of their things after dinner, so what she still wanted to add to their suitcase was really beyond him.

He smiled to himself though, when he heard her shuffling to her own feet. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she teased.

That made him stop in his tracks. He turned around to see that she had come to a stop as well and was giving him a mischievous quirk of an eyebrow. "Is that what that bag is about?" he asked.

After work she had made a stop, letting him go ahead home before her, and when she finally arrived home, too, she was carrying a black dress bag. She kept mum about it when he asked what it was.

"Maybe," she told him coyly, resuming her walk and moving past him into their bedroom.

He shook his head and went after her. When he entered the bedroom, she was indeed already busy fumbling with the bag. He tried another approach. "Fine, you don't have to tell me," he told her and she gave him a mock look of disbelief. "But," she smirked at that, "can you at least give me a hint about the color?"

"So we can match?" she asked on a smile.

He let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Exactly," he told her.

"Nope," she quipped, returning to her task.

He grunted, making her laugh, but said nothing more on the matter.

...

They actually managed to make an arrest the next day, but when, as planned, they were about to leave work at 1 pm, Sharon hesitated, clearly wanting to stick around until the DA was done with their suspect. It was Provenza, who finally all but dragged her out of the murder room.

"Captain," he told her seriously, joining Andy in her office as he tried to get them going, "please, go. The case is closed. We can take it from here." At her bland look, he added sarcastically, "I promise to leave all the paperwork for you to fill out on Monday."

When Andy chuckled at his partner, Sharon rolled her eyes and finally got to her feet, grabbing her things. "Alright," she relented finally. She rounded her desk, but stopped in front of Provenza before walking through the door past Andy. "But if you catch a case, I want updates," she told him, pinning him with a look that all but screamed that 'no' was not an acceptable answer.

Provenza made a face, clearly suppressing an eye roll of his own, and exchanged a look with Andy before nodding. "Yes, Captain," he didn't bother hiding his exasperation.

She gave him a searching look, as if weighing his words, but finally nodded and turned around to walk out of her office.

"Finally," Andy muttered under his breath when she finally walked past him. Fortunately, she didn't hear him, or simply decided to ignore him.

Before he could go after her, Provenza pushed past him, too, muttering under his breath, too, only loudly enough so his partner could hear him. "Marrying _her_ of all people." He even looked heavenward for effect.

Andy shook his head, but offered no retort. Instead he followed Sharon.

His partner was just being grumpy for grumpiness' sake. That they actually had his partner's blessing (one blessing he _really_ did not need or want) was something Andy and Sharon found out on Tuesday morning when they came into work.

 _Andy opened the door to the murder room for Sharon. They were discussing when to tell the rest of the team about their news and he was looking at her, when, in the middle of a rather humorless conversation, she let out a snort laugh, just as they reached the first door to her office._

 _"What?" he asked her, puzzled as to how suggesting they just told them during lunch break was in any way funny._

 _She, however, laughed again and merely pointed a finger in the direction of his desk. When he looked at what she pointed at, he looked heavenward and loudly groaned. "You gotta be kidding me." He looked around the room, making his way to his desk, followed closely by Sharon. "Where is the old grouch?" he asked._

 _Sharon just laughed again. "Well, I am a girl," she shrugged._

 _Andy gave her a bland look and yanked the pink 'It's a girl!' balloon off his desk chair. "You know," he waved the hand holding the balloon through the air, accidentally hitting himself with the balloon in the head, making Sharon snort another laugh and him frown at her reaction, "they're only_ not _making fun of_ you _because you're the_ boss _," he grumbled._

 _"Oh, don't be so sure of that, Flynn," they heard Provenza as he walked into the murder room, carrying a steaming cup of coffee. He had obviously been in the break room._

 _Sharon spun around and gave him a surprised look, eyes wide and eyebrows high. She then, at a deliberate pace, folded her arms and smirked. "Is that so?" she asked, a dangerous inflection to her words._

 _Provenza just snickered and walked over to his desk, flopping down on his chair, not a single worry on his mind._

 _"Good morning," suddenly Julio and Amy said, walking into the murder room as well. When they saw their Captain's stance, they looked between Andy and Provenza in surprise._

 _"I thought you were kidding about that, Lieutenant," Julio told Provenza when he noticed what Andy was holding. Amy, now making her way to her own desk, laughed._

 _"Why?" Provenza asked him seriously, taking a sip from his cup. "You chipped in for the other surprise, didn't you? You don't think the balloon was in poor taste, now do you?" Provenza challenged._

 _Julio just chuckled and, not bothering with a retort, found his own desk._

 _Sharon smiled and gave Andy a quick amused look before softly addressing her second in command. "I must thank you, Lieutenant Provenza." Her suspiciously pleasant tone of voice had him instantly on alert and he narrowed his eyes at her._

 _"But you didn't see our other surprise," he told her._

 _"Oh," she waved a hand through the air, "not for that." She gave Andy another look. He was smiling crookedly, already liking whatever she was up to even though he had no clue where she was going with this. "But for spreading the good news," she told Provenza._

 _Andy, Amy and Julio laughed while Provenza rolled his eyes. "You're welcome," Provenza said sarcastically._

 _Buzz and Tao walked in just as Sharon, smiling to herself, started making her way into her office._

 _"Oh," Tao said, forgoing a greeting and addressing Provenza the moment he set his eyes on the old man. "We didn't miss it, did we?" he asked, throwing a look at his Captain's office as she entered it._

 _"Nope," Provenza quipped, leaning all too smugly in his chair now. "You're just in time," he added at the same moment Nolan stepped into the murder room._

 _"What did you do?" Andy asked, slightly worried now. He was fairly certain they wouldn't do anything disrespectful, but this was his partner's little scheme, and that was reason enough to worry._

 _"Don't worry, Flynn," Provenza waved him off, his attention solely on Sharon's office now. "She'll love it."_

 _It did not in the least put Andy's worries at ease and even less so when he let his gaze fall over the rest of the team, who were all intently watching their Captain in her office. Buzz and Tao didn't even bother finding their desks, instead stood rooted to a spot next to the murder board._

 _"See," Provenza let out cheerfully, when they heard and saw Sharon laugh suddenly. The rest of the team exchanged amused looks._

 _Andy, however took a few steps toward Sharon's office, balloon still in hand, and popped his head inside. "What's so funny?" he carefully asked her turned back._

 _"This," she told him, turning around to walk over to him, and extended her hand that carried the source of her amusement._

 _Her wide smile put Andy immediately at ease, but he frowned in confusion when he took the object into his hand. "Wha-" he started, when he suddenly realized what it was._

 _It was Sharon's glass desk name plate. It looked exactly the same as the one that always adorned her desk, only the inscription no longer said 'Captain Sharon Raydor'. Now the words read 'Captain Sharon Flynn'._

 _An entirely different worrisome thought crossed his mind at that, but he snapped out of it when he felt her hand run down his arm as she walked past him and out of her office. She offered him a pointed look and shook her head only fractionally, clearly recognizing where his mind had went. They hadn't discussed whether she would take his name or not yet. But apparently, he shouldn't worry about it now. She wasn't either._

 _So he followed her, finally smiling about the surprise, too._

 _"Thank you," she told all of them, when she came to a stop in the middle of the murder room._

 _A round of congratulations filled the room. Only Provenza smugly retorted, "You're welcome." But the way he gave both his Captain and his partner a pointed look told them he was happy for them as well._

 _"Does that mean you're taking the Lieutenant's name, Captain?" Buzz suddenly asked her, his curiosity clearly getting the better of him. He had moved to lean against Amy's desk and judging by the looks that crossed the rest of the division's faces, they were equally curious._

 _Amy gave her an almost apologetic shrug. "We weren't exactly sure how you'd take it, Captain," she admitted._

 _"But the Lieutenant talked us into taking a risk, Ma'am," Julio chipped in._

 _"Well," Sharon started, giving Andy an amused look. He was still holding the balloon and was again checking out her new name plate. The sight made her suppress a chuckle. "The new name plate does look good," she told them cryptically._

 _When Andy's head snapped up to give her a surprised look, the rest of his co-workers started laughing._

 _"I do have a question," Sharon continued, more seriously now, pinning Provenza with a look._

 _"And that would be?" Provenza asked sounding mildly exasperated._

 _"Where is my old name plate?" she asked._

 _Provenza looked slightly taken aback. "I thought you liked the new one."_

 _"I am still Captain Sharon Raydor," she carefully pointed out._

 _"Of course you are," Provenza muttered, fishing her old name plate out of one of his desk drawers. He handed it over to her, adding, "Wouldn't want you misrepresenting yourself, Captain."_

 _She gave him an amused look, accepting her name plate. "That would be, I believe," she paused ever so briefly for effect, "against the law."_

 _When Tao let out an uncontrolled "Ha!" she let her lips curve upwards into an even more amused smile._

 _"Walked right into that one," Andy told his partner as he rolled his eyes._

 _Provenza only glared at him in response._

 _"Well," Sharon clasped her hands together, "now that this is out of the way, let's get to work."_

 _With that, she turned around and walked back into her office, effectively putting an end to the discussion of her private life for now._

...

When they boarded the plane they found out Emily, Rusty and Ricky had another surprise in store for them.

"Andrew and Sharon Flynn?" one of the two flight attendants that stood at the plane's entrance said when he saw their tickets.

"Raydor," Sharon corrected but gave the young man a surprised look. Her ticket said 'Sharon Raydor' after all.

Andy, standing next to her, shifted on his feet uncomfortably and asked, "Why do you ask?"

"We have an Andrew and Sharon Flynn here," he started but trailed off as he checked their tickets against a list he had in his hands. Suddenly he said, "Oh, the numbers match." He looked up and gave then a polite smile. "You two have been bumped up to first class." Ignoring Andy's and Sharon's surprised faces he went on, gesturing a hand at them, "If you would please, follow me."

Sharon and Andy exchanged curious looks but obliged his request. When they were finally seated Andy grinned. "I love those three," he told Sharon as he stretched out his legs, enjoying the extra leg room.

Sharon smiled at his antics, but said, "They really shouldn't have."

"Maybe," he said, testing how far he could recline his seat, "but this is great."

She quirked an eyebrow at him, patiently waiting for him to settle in. When at long last, he did, she asked, "You done?"

He smirked and quipped. "Not yet."

Before she could ask how long it could possibly take to make oneself comfortable in a chair, a very comfortable one at that, he took hold of her hand, tangling their fingers together and added, "Now I am."

She shook her head at him but smiled, leaning against her own seat and taking a look outside the window. "It is great," she agreed.

When Andy grew quiet for a few moments, she looked at him. His gaze was fixed on their joined hands and he seemed lost in thought. "It's a 5-hour flight, Andy," she started jokingly, "if this," she waved her other hand at him, "is what you plan on doing for the duration of it, it's going to be a _really_ _long_ 5 hours."

He looked up and smiled at her. He said, "Sorry," but remained distracted.

She could guess where his thoughts had gone. They were going there since Tuesday, she knew, and it was actually starting to annoy her that he hadn't said anything. Normally, she would address it herself without hesitation, but she wondered what it was that kept him from doing so. "It isn't like you to skirt around an issue," she told him.

His eyebrows shot up, surprised by her words, but after a second he looked down again and admitted, "No, it's not."

She squeezed his hand. "So would you, please, stop?"

He looked at her again, taking her in for a moment. "Will you take my surname?" he finally asked.

She smiled, but that only put a puzzled look on his face. "I will," she told him simply, deciding to put him out of his misery.

"You will?" he asked, eyes wide now.

Sharon just laughed. "Andy," she said, growing more serious, "why does that surprise you so?" She frowned a bit as she continued, "And why was that such a difficult question to ask all of a sudden?" She added on a smile, "You've asked much worse ones."

He frowned now and sighed. After a brief pause he shrugged. "You had the name for, what, 30 years? Then there are Emily and Ricky." He gave her a pointed look. "Work," he said lastly.

She shifted in her seat, to face him properly. Briefly she thought a plane that wasn't boarded yet wasn't exactly the best place for discussing this, but she pushed the thought aside and said, "And I was O'Dwyer before that. And Ricky and Emily are mine," the last word even _sounded_ possessive, "no matter what surname we carried."

Andy nodded. "I know," he said. "But what about work?" he asked tentatively.

She only had herself to blame really. It was her who was adamant about separating their private relationship from their professional one. But he took it as seriously as she did. The other day she even had to assure him that the team's little surprise for them had not made her uncomfortable. So maybe at times he worried more about it than she did. She actually loved that about him but not so much right now.

"Oh, gosh, Andy," she shook her head at him, suddenly sounding exasperated, "I know I wanted to keep us," she waved a hand between them, "and work separated, but I have no intention of hiding behind my current surname to keep doing so."

When he said, "You don't?" she actually sighed and looked heavenward.

"Where on earth is this coming from?" she mentally winced when her voice went a tad higher than anticipated. "You know that I only needed to make sure nobody accused me of preferential treatment. And I would have insisted on conducting ourselves accordingly and appropriately, too, whether you were my subordinate or not!" She now suspected there was more to his hesitance than just that.

When he suddenly laughed at her, she pulled her hand back and folded her arms over her chest, clearly not finding the conversation funny at all.

"Oh, God, sorry, Sharon," he told her, his laughter having diminished to only a smile now, "I'm not laughing at you." He reached for her hand, glad to see she offered no protest when he unfolded her arms. "I'm an idiot," he told her, safely clasping her hand between both of his.

She scoffed but he just went on. "I know you wouldn't want me groping you at work. Hell, anywhere public." A small smile crossed her face. He whispered his next words conspiratorially, "Besides, I enjoy doing that without an audience anyway."

He smirked when she rolled her eyes at that and squeezed her hand before continuing more seriously now. "Honestly, I don't know why this had me on edge. Maybe I just didn't wanna push my luck." He shrugged.

"Push your luck?" she asked in disbelief.

"Okay, I know I didn't wanna complicate things at work for you," he went on, ignoring her interjection. "I mean, who would ever believe there was a Captain Flynn? Captain Raydor holds quite the reputation, too." he said on a chuckle. "But I guess, I also didn't want to come off as forcing my name on you, not when marriage itself was off the table for so long."

It was her who laughed this time. "I would not be marrying you if, at any point, I thought you were trying to force something on me." She quirked an amused eyebrow at him. "You push the occasional topic on me, but forcing me into something?" She shook her head. "Never, Andy," she assured him. "Have you not met me?" she added on a chuckle.

When he offered no answer but a faint smile, she added, "Besides, we're doing this the old-fashioned way. That means, if I marry you, I'm not only stuck with you, but with your name, too."

He smiled then, the last of his concerns finally leaving him. "You could keep Raydor at work," he still added, as if offering her an out.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I really don't understand why this worries you so much, but rest assured, Andy," she quirked her eyebrows then, teasingly, "my reputation will survive your name." When he gave her a bland look, she went on, fighting herself to keep her threatening laughter at bay, "And it's going to be so much fun," she sounded almost giddy now, "keeping Lieutenant Provenza on his toes whenever he yells 'Flynn'."

With that, she burst out laughing merrily and Andy joined her. When they pulled themselves together, he told her, "You're amazing, you know that, right?"

If she could have, she would have melted under the look he aimed at her. Instead she just smiled, and put her other hand over his. "Is it really that important to you?" she asked softly, the question only occurring to her just then. At his puzzled look, she added, "That I take your name?"

He didn't respond immediately. He took a few moments, but when he finally responded, she knew he wasn't just telling her what she wanted to hear.

"No." He gave her a crooked smile, "It would have probably bruised my ego." The words had her hold back a chuckle. "But no," he untangled their hands and sought out her right pinky. "You wearing this," he ran a thumb over her ring there, looking at it, too, "is enough." He shrugged, looking up. "I don't make empty promises. And I know you don't either," he told her thickly.

When he noticed the sheen of tears in her eyes and the way she clenched her jaw clearly fighting for composure, he added, in what he knew would be a feeble attempt at lightening the mood, "It was a stupid thing to worry about, I know." He even rolled his eyes at himself, because he really couldn't tell anymore why he was so concerned about it. "Like I said, I'm an idiot."

"No, you're not," she managed to say and before he knew what was happening, she grabbed his face and kissed him, violently almost.

The sound of somebody clearing her throat had them jump apart as if burned by something. When they looked at the source of the sound, they were met by an amused looking flight attendant. "Seatbelts, please," was all she kindly told them, before moving down the aisle.

Flustered, Sharon fumbled with her seatbelt, whereas Andy fastened his more calmly. "So much for the no groping rule," he told her, grinning at her.

She shook her head at him and gave him an almost bashful smile. "I love you," she told him, leaning her head against her seat's headrest.

He reached out for her hand and leaned back as well. "Me, too," he told her.

 **TBC**

* * *

They arrive in New York in the next chapter. Finally!


	13. Chapter 13 - Fidgeting

**Chapter 13 - Fidgeting**

"Incoming," Andy mumbled into Sharon's ear, giving her just enough time to turn around to see Emily jogging toward them with a happy "Mom!" on her lips.

"Oh, I missed you," Sharon mumbled into her ear, wrapping her into a tight hug.

"You saw me a few days ago," Emily told her as they pulled apart, rolling her eyes.

"We always miss you," Andy told her, putting down their bag, to receive a hug in greeting as well.

"First class tickets?" Andy asked when they let go of each other, quirking an eyebrow at her.

Emily smirked. "You're very welcome," she said in answer.

"Sharon Flynn?" her mother added to her fiance's question.

"You're as good as," Emily shrugged.

Andy chuckled, picking the bag up again, and slanted Sharon an amused look. "I don't know what I worried about, I even got their blessing," he told her on an innocent shrug.

When Sharon just laughed, Emily shot them a puzzled look, but they ignored it.

"Thank you, honey," Sharon told her daughter instead. "But you really shouldn't have."

"Oh, come on, mom," Emily wrapped her hands around her mother's arm, pulling her toward the airport exit. "Between the three of us, it was nothing. Plus, this is a gift for us, too," she added, briefly leaning her head against Sharon's shoulder.

"I thought you saw each other just a few days ago," Andy, following them on Sharon's other side, told Emily sarcastically.

Emily gave him a bland look. "Ha, funny," she said, sounding anything but amused.

"I sure am," Andy muttered proudly.

Sharon bumped her shoulder against his in a rather lame attempt of scolding him, but addressed her daughter. "Where are we going?"

"My car," Emily quipped, looking straight ahead of herself with exaggerated determination.

When Sharon shook her head, Andy chuckled again. "Where are you taking us with your car, Emily?" Sharon corrected herself.

"A bed," Emily told her, just as witty as a moment ago. "Unless," she gave both Andy and Sharon a questioning look, "you're hungry? It's almost 11 pm but we can find a diner or something if you'd like?"

"No, honey," Sharon said, patting one of her daughter's hands.

"We traveled first class, remember?" Andy added, giving her a look over Sharon's head.

An hour into their flight they had actually gotten something to eat. It would sustain them until breakfast.

"Oh, I forgot," Emily admitted. "Hotel it is then."

"We can pay for the hotel," Sharon told her, giving her daughter an imploring look.

"Nonsense," Emily waved her off. "Just enjoy it, mom." She threw Andy a look. "Both of you."

"Emily," Sharon started, clearly gearing up for another form of protest.

"Consider it an early wedding gift," Emily interrupted her.

"Parking space?" Andy tried, giving her a hopeful look, as they finally reached the parking lot. Airport parking spaces cost a fortune.

At Emily's eerily Sharon-like glare, he raised his palms up in surrender. "You have it covered, got it," he said.

...

Emily took them to a little 3-star hotel located on the Upper East Side. Her own apartment wasn't too far away, just across the East River actually. Despite the late hour, midnight by the time they finally arrived, they were let into their room right away and Emily had left them with a promise to pick them up for breakfast around 9 am. Ricky was in Washington DC on business and would hop on an early flight to New York the next day to finally join them as well.

It was a rather small room, but it was neat and had a warm feel to it. It had huge windows, with cream colored drapes over it. The bed stood across from them, its covers in a lighter shade of the same color. There were nightstands with rustic lamps on top of them on each side.

When Sharon saw them, she said, "Ooh, I love these."

Andy, however, took a look around the room and said, feigning disappointment, "No TV, huh?" At Sharon's bland look, he quickly added, "Kidding."

After unpacking some of the essentials they would be needing over the weekend, they each took turns in the shower. When Sharon got out, having let Andy go first, she found him sprawled across the bed on his back, looking at the ceiling.

When he heard the bathroom door close, he turned his head to look at her. "I'm bored," he informed her.

Sharon laughed softly, but joined him on the bed, mirroring his position. "It's late, let's sleep."

Andy checked his watch. "It's not even 10 yet," he mumbled.

"Andy, it's almost 1 am," Sharon told him, turning her head to look at him.

"Not in LA," he informed her.

"You're not in LA," she said, holding back a smile.

"No, I'm not," he agreed, a crooked grin starting to quirk his lips upwards.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You're in a mood," she told him.

"I am," he confirmed, his grin only widening.

She turned onto her side then, propping her head on a hand, and gave him a long look. "When was the last time you were in New York?" she asked, pulling her other hand up to his chest to start running her fingers over it.

"Ugh," he looked at the ceiling again. "More than a decade, I think." He turned his head to look at her. "You?" he asked.

"Not since taking over Major Crimes," she told him.

"That long, huh?"

"That long," she confirmed on a heavy sigh. "You'd think with Emily here, I'd visit more often, but..." she trailed off, shrugging.

"Yeah," he mumbled, grabbing ahold of her hand that was still tracing patterns over his chest. "I'm still bored," he told her, changing the topic.

"Sleep," she told him on a grin of her own this time.

"I have other ideas," he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Of course you do," she said on an eye roll, able to imagine his ideas only too well.

"Do you have any idea what they have planned for us this weekend?" he suddenly asked. He smirked when he managed to catch a glimpse of her surprise at his question before she could school her features.

"A surprise," she quipped.

Andy rolled his eyes this time. "And I'm the funny one, huh?" he told her blandly.

"You're hilarious," she told him on a smile, quickly leaning down to peck him on the lips.

"I'm still bored," he repeated his earlier words when she returned to watching him, having propped herself back on her elbow.

"Well, go to sleep then," her voice went up a bit, laced with her amusement.

He suddenly turned to his side as well, placing her hand on her side with deliberate care when he mirrored her position this time. He kept his hand on top of hers though and smirked. "Nah, we are in a hotel room after all."

"You've never been in a hotel room?" she asked, failing miserably at holding back her laughter.

He ignored her attempt at sarcasm. "Not with you," he told her, devilishly bobbing his eyebrows up and down.

"So w-" Sharon started but Andy suddenly leaning forward and planting his lips on hers effectively shut her up.

He rolled her gently onto her back and settled in between her legs, hovering over her hips and lips as he pulled away for a moment. "Wanna know what my ideas are?" he asked.

She offered a beaming smile, but said, keeping her voice as serious as she possibly could at the moment, "Not really."

"Fine," he said, feigning resignation and making a move to get off of her.

"Ah!" she let out, grabbing him by the back of his neck and pulling him down again. "I don't think so," she told him before closing the distance to kiss him. She let out a low hum when she felt his weight pressing into her as he relaxed into the kiss.

He let go of her lips and started tracing a path along her jaw and lower in search of her collarbone, but he suddenly felt her hand underneath his chin, urging him up again. At his questioning gaze, she said, "I want to ask you something."

His eyes widened in surprise, but he said, "Shoot." He rested the bulk of his weight on his hands on the bed on each of her sides and pulled away a bit more so he could give her his full attention.

"Earlier you said we always missed them, did you mean that?" she asked softly, running a thumb gently over his cheek.

He gave her a confused look. "What?" he asked, having no clue what she was referring to.

"At the airport, you told Emily that," she clarified.

"Oh," he let out in surprise. "Well, yeah," he shrugged as much as it was possible to do so in his current position. "Of course, I miss them. I love them, they're amazing kids." He pecked her on the lips. "Just like their mother," he added on a crooked smile.

When she gave him a long loving look, he leaned down again and kissed her once more. "What, did you think I only put up with them because of you?" he asked on a more humorous note when he pulled away. "You're a catch, my dear, but that bunch of yours isn'-"

"Of course not," she interrupted him, admonishment in her tone of voice. She then smiled an almost wistful smile. "It was just nice hearing that," she admitted in a softer, quieter voice.

He leaned back, sat on his knees, and pulled her by her hand to get her to sit up. Her sudden mood change had him puzzled. "You love my kids," he told her and she nodded at his words, even though he wasn't looking for confirmation; he knew that even if she never said it outright, "why is it so strange that I love yours?" he asked on a serious note now.

"Oh," she let out on a sad sigh, "it's not strange," she assured him, squeezing his hand. "But I look at children like Rusty whose father only-" she shook her head, not ending the thought. "Or Emily and Ricky," she looked at Andy almost desperately as she added, "I had to sometimes beg their father to just call them, Andy. He always either complained or wanted something in return." She scooted closer to him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her cheek against his chest. "And you," she said on a note filled with awe, "say you love them like it's the most natural thing in the world."

He returned her embrace, holding her tightly against him. "I'm sorry," he told her. "I wish you didn't have to go through all that. He has no idea what he's missed out on. Loving you," he squeezed her more tightly as he let out the next words, "and them _is_ the most natural thing in the world."

He may not have spent much time with Ricky or Emily, and it was a rather bumpy road with Rusty, but it was true. He did love them, in a different way maybe, than the way he loved Charlie and Nicole, and definitely differently than he loved Sharon, but it felt in no way unnatural to him.

When he felt a shuddering breath go through her, he tightened his hold on her even more. He had no words that would make this particular pain and sorrow of hers go away. And even if he had, he wasn't sure he'd be able to get them past the sudden lump that formed in the back of his throat.

After a few steadying breaths he felt her loosen her hold on him. He did the same and pulled back, resting his hands against the side of her arms to look at her. "You okay?" he asked quietly, inspecting her features in search of an answer.

"I'm sorry," she offered instead.

"Nothing to be sorry about," he told her before pressing a reassuring kiss to her forehead.

She smiled then and let her hand find the back of his head. She lifted her own head and said, "I love you so much," before kissing him and laying back down on the bed, pulling him with her. She then sought out his cheeks with both her hands and unglued their lips. "You mentioned some ideas earlier?" she asked, back to her playful mood from earlier.

He laughed and shook his head, shaking the heavy mood off as well. "That's right," he confirmed, the scalding look he gave her making it all too clear just what kind of ideas those were.

"Such as?" she challenged anyway.

"Hmm," he looked down, trailing a thumb over the curves of her lips, as he pretended to think about his answer. He then trailed a path downwards, making her skin erupt in goosebumps as he made his way down her jaw and throat, coming to a teasing spot just between her breasts. He smirked at the way her breath hitched when he hooked a finger underneath her nightgown there. "How about," he looked into her eyes again, "we practice for our honeymoon?"

She laughed at his ridiculous question, but he quickly stifled her laughter by planting his lips over hers.

...

"Ricky!" Sharon exclaimed, getting to her feet when she spotted her son entering the little bistro Emily took them for breakfast the next morning.

"Hi, mom," Ricky told her, hugging her in greeting.

"Hi, Andy," he offered his hand to him when his mother let go of him.

He then sat down at the table next to his sister and, nudging her shoulder with his, threw her a, "Hi, sis."

"Got here alright?" she asked him.

"Yup," he quipped. "Considering a certain someone would not pick me up at the airport and left me to fend for myself."

Offended, Emily slapped his arm. "You flat out refused when I offered to pick you up." She addressed Andy and Sharon, who were laughing at the exchange, "Said he was a big boy who was more than capable of finding his way in a big city."

Sharon let out a snort laugh. "Is that why you're late?"

"45 minutes?" Andy added, chuckling.

"You? Our big boy?" Emily offered one last jab.

"I may have taken the wrong bus," he admitted. At his company's expectant looks, he reluctantly added, "And it may have taken me 15 minutes to notice."

"Oh, honey," Sharon said on a laugh, squeezing his hand on top of the table in comfort, "you're here now. That's all that matters."

Even though his mother's words sounded honest, he gave her an unimpressed look. Deciding offense was the best defense, he changed the topic and looked at his sister. "So, Em, did you tell mom about your-"

"Ricky!" she hissed, looking alarmed suddenly.

A waitress interrupted them before she could say more, coming over to take Ricky's order. Sharon, Andy and Emily were already done with their breakfast and were finishing their coffees now.

Unfortunately, the interruption did not stop their mother's eyebrows from shooting up in puzzlement as she, at a deliberate pace, inquired, "Tell mom about your?"

"Nothing," Emily replied instantly, throwing her brother one last agitated look before focusing on Sharon seated across from her. "It's a surprise," she added in a tone of voice that said she would add nothing more to the matter.

Sharon narrowed her eyes at both her children and, deciding to let it go (for now), asked, "So what are our plans for today?"

...

After breakfast they had spent their time not straying far from Manhattan. Emily took them to the local, less crowded places which allowed them to just enjoy each other's company. Not being first time visitors to New York, neither Ricky, Sharon or Andy were game for a tourist tour of the city.

However, Sharon did yearn for a visit to a museum or two, whereas both Andy and Ricky wished they could catch a game at the Yankee Stadium. When Emily told them they were always welcome for a visit and that it was their own fault that it took them this long to finally make the trip again, the idea of using up more of her vacation days suddenly sounded rather tempting to Sharon. Even though Andy's muttered "Told ya." at Emily's words had her admit to that only reluctantly.

For lunch, Emily had made reservations at a fancy restaurant and Sharon had, feeling rather triumphant about the accomplishment afterwards, managed to force her own (and Andy's) wallet on the bill.

After lunch, now at almost 3 pm, they had made their way to Emily's where they wanted to enjoy a cup of coffee together. Sharon and Andy would return to their hotel later only long enough to dress up for the evening, before going back to Emily's apartment where, deciding people packed public spaces was not something they were in the mood for, they would enjoy a family dinner and wait for midnight to announce the New Year. The building she lived in was also rather tall with plenty of space on the rooftop, from where they could catch a glimpse of the Times Square fireworks, too, so their plan sounded rather perfect to them.

"Whoa," Andy said as they entered Emily's apartment. He rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them up. "It's freezing."

"I told you to pack your gloves," Sharon told him, slipping her own gloves off her hands as she walked past him further into the hallway.

There was no snow, but the temperatures were low and they felt even lower with the angry wind that whistled through the city streets.

"You could have packed them, too, you know," Andy muttered, letting Emily take his coat.

"I could have," Sharon confirmed nonchalantly. "But where would be the fun in that?"

When Emily and Ricky started chuckling, Andy shot them an offended glare.

"Lessons, Andy, lessons," Ricky almost singsonged on his way to Emily's living room.

"Policies, rules, laws," Andy followed him, muttering. "And now lessons," he added, throwing his hands up. "Does it ever end?"

"That's our mom, alright," Emily told him on a laugh, brushing a hand down his arm in comfort as she fell into step next to him. "So no, it really doesn't, Andy," she added.

Sharon shook her head at their backs but smiled contentedly to herself before going after them.

...

Emily ushered Andy and Sharon toward her couch, while dragging her brother into the kitchen.

"She's rather fidgety," Andy said quietly, careful not to be overheard since Emily's kitchen was open, separated from her living room area only by a counter, with a direct view at them and the couch.

"You noticed, too?" she asked, leaning into his embrace as he snaked an arm around her shoulders.

He nodded, "It's nervous fidgety though, not concerned fidgeting," he said, tapping his fingers on top of her shoulder.

"True," Sharon agreed.

Emily had been less relaxed than she usually was around them. She checked her phone a few times more than was usual, too. What also raised their suspicions were Ricky's smirks or knowing smiles and glances whenever Emily showed more signs of her nervousness.

"You gonna ask her?" Andy said, tilting his head slightly, indicating Emily behind them.

Sharon shook her head. "Ricky knows, so that's good." She gave him a thoughtful look and added, "I have a feeling that, whatever it is, it is not necessarily a bad thing."

Andy's eyebrows shot up. "You know what it's about then?" He shot a worried look behind him, when he realized his voice was louder and higher than anticipated, but thankfully neither Emily nor Ricky paid them any attention.

"I don't," she told him, shrugging. "But I can make an educated guess," her voice went cryptically high.

He pulled back from her to give her a wide-eyed look. "Care to fill me in?" he asked.

Suddenly, she got to her feet to walk over to her children. "Nope," she quipped rather loudly on her way.

"Nope what?" Ricky asked, looking up. He was in the middle of putting two mugs down on the counter. Emily was busy pouring boiling water into another two that already sat there. She looked up as well.

"Nothing," Sharon waved them off, hopping onto a bar stool next to the counter.

"Sure, nothing," Andy muttered sarcastically, unimpressed as he followed her to sit down next to her.

Ricky chuckled. "You sure you're not married already?" he asked them.

Emily joined his snicker at their mother's bland look.

...

"Wow," Andy said when Sharon came out of their hotel bathroom.

He was sitting on the bed, already dressed up in one of his more expensive suits and a dark charcoal dress shirt. The only thing missing was a tie around his neck, which he could not locate anywhere in their suitcase. He tugged absentmindedly at his earlobe as he took the sight of her in.

She had let her hair frame her face in deliberately messy soft curls and wore only light make-up, which in and of itself made her look amazing, but it was the rather simple, classy dress she wore that drew the word out of him.

It was a deep emerald green one, cut just above her knees, its lace-patterned edge enticing enough to draw his attention there and keep it there for a few long moments before his eyes went on to scan the rest of her. The cut of it was almost conservative, more concealing her chest rather than revealing it. The entire dress had a silk glimmer to it and Andy suddenly itched to touch its three-quarter length sleeves.

She held out a hand in front of him and only when she said, "I have something for you," did he realize she actually had something in it. She was giving him a warm smile, clearly enjoying his dazed state, and then dangled the object she carried in front of his face to try to get his attention once more.

"Is that why I couldn't find the one I _know_ I packed?" he asked, getting to his feet, before grabbing ahold of her extended hand.

"That is precisely why," she confirmed on both a nod and a self-satisfied smile.

She had held out a tie for him, matching her dress in color just perfectly. There was no pattern to it, but it was as silky as her dress.

"You," he said in feigned admonishment, then took a quick step closer to her and dropped a kiss to her lips. "Thanks," he told her, pulling away and taking her offered tie. "You look stunning, by the way." He grinned before adding, "Makes your eyes pop."

She rolled her eyes, but gave him a warm smile in thanks before turning around to bend down to grab her heels.

"Oh, my God, Sharon!" Andy suddenly exclaimed. "Are you trying to kill me?" he asked.

She took her time slipping on her heels before turning around to face him again. "Want me to change?" she asked in a teasing tone of voice, her lips and and an eyebrow quirked upwards in amusement.

"Hell, no!" he retorted instantly, his hands frozen in place around the ends of the tie he had just put around his neck. "But a heads-up would have been appreciated," he mumbled on a smirk. He looked her up and down and groaned. "And those heels!" he looked heavenward.

Sharon laughed. "I'm glad you like it," she told him, walking over to him to take over the task of tying his tie. "Picked it all out just for you," she added.

"Like it?" he repeated, looking at her in disbelief. "I love it," he corrected on almost a growl.

She only laughed again, focusing on his tie under her hands.

Her dress looked rather conservative from the front, but the back of it was cut very, very low. When she first tried it on, she had hesitated to buy it, thinking that maybe the days when she could pull the look off were behind her. In the end, even though Sharon knew better than to listen to what salespeople said, (their job was to talk their merchandise up to get them to sell after all), the saleswoman talked her into buying it, assuring her she looked great in it. But seeing Andy's reaction now, made any lingering doubts disappear instantly.

"You look rather dapper yourself," she said, smoothing down his tie when she was done with it. "You ready?" she asked, enjoying the happy smile he was aiming at her.

"Yeah," he nodded.

At the same time, Sharon's phone went off. She took it off the nightstand to read the message. "Just in time then," she said, looking up. "Ricky's waiting for us downstairs."

"Alright then," Andy said, grabbing his coat while Sharon scooped off a small black clutch, that matched her heels, off the bed.

"Not that I'm complaining," Andy told Sharon as she entered the bathroom once more, "but please tell me you have something to cover yourself up." When he heard her hum, he added, "You'll freeze to death on that rooftop later."

She laughed. "Don't worry," she said, returning from the bathroom. She waved a shawl she was now carrying through the air. "Got this and my coat."

"Don't forget your gloves," Andy added, rolling his eyes.

"Oh," she suddenly let out, "speaking of gloves." She walked over to their suitcase. "Got something else for you," she told him, waving the 'something else' through the air as she approached him again.

"You're kidding me?" Andy said, astonished. "I love you," he said, snatching his gloves out of her hands.

"Of course you do," she quipped, wrapping her shawl around herself, then grabbing her coat.

"Wait," Andy suddenly frowned at her. "You had these," he waved his gloved hands through the air, "all this time, and you let me get frostbite earlier?" He sounded outraged.

She smirked at him, opening their hotel room door with a flourish. "What did Emily and Ricky tell you today?" she asked.

He grunted, walking past her through the door. "Lessons," he all but hissed the word, sending her into a fit of laughter.

...

"Sorry, Em," Ricky told his sister when she opened her door for them. "Traffic blows." He had picked Sharon and Andy up on time and was supposed to return with them half an hour ago, but a car accident derailed their plans.

She ushered them quickly inside, throwing an almost worried glance behind them into the corridor, a move that did not go unnoticed by either Sharon or Andy. "It's fine," she told them, not noticing the surprised looks that passed between them, and closed the door to lean against it as they started taking off their gloves.

She was clearly distracted, on edge even, and Sharon was just about to ask if everything was okay, when a knock startled them, making Emily even jump slightly.

Sharon and Andy failed to see Ricky throwing his sister an amused grin before turning around to walk into her living room, but they heard Emily's sharp intake of air and her mumbled, "Time to improvise," as she swung the door open.

 **TBC**

* * *

Sorry, I'll update tomorrow, I promise!


	14. Chapter 14 - Happy New Year

**Chapter 14 - Happy New Year**

"Hi," they heard Emily softly say.

Andy and Sharon only managed to exchange curious looks when Emily pulled the guest inside and presented him to them.

Sharon started smiling before Emily even started talking. She already knew who, or rather what he was. It did not take a detective to interpret the hand holding either.

"Mom, Andy," Emily waved a hand at the young, tall, dark-haired man next to her, "this is Ethan," she took a quick breath, "my boyfriend."

Andy gave Sharon a wide-eyed look, but she didn't pay him much attention. Instead she gave her daughter a wide excited smile, before schooling her features into something more neutral as she addressed the man she was just introduced to. She held out a hand and said, kindly, "Hello, I'm Sharon Raydor, nice to meet you, Ethan."

He took her offered hand, its clamminess a sure indicator of his own nervousness, not just Emily's. "Hi," he said, "I'm Ethan, Ethan O'Riley." He offered a smile. "It's really nice to meet you." He glanced over at Emily. "I've heard a lot about you."

While Sharon gave Emily an amused look, Andy interjected on a chuckle, smirking at Emily. "All good things, I hope."

Ethan looked at him, clearly surprised by his interruption, but gave Emily a broad smile before saying, "The best." He then offered Andy a hand. "Hi, nice to meet you."

"Andy Flynn," Andy told him, accepting his hand for a handshake.

"I know," Ethan said, "Emily's told me a lot about you, too."

Before Andy could give voice to his surprise, Emily quickly added, "All good things, of course."

Sharon laughed at them when Andy muttered, "Funny," letting go of Ethan's hand and taking a step back to dispose of his coat.

"Come on," Emily suddenly waved a hand through the air. "Let's move this into the living room," she said, taking Andy's coat to put it away for him.

Andy helped Sharon with her coat and waved Emily off when she made a move to put that away, too. "I can do it, don't worry."

"Wow," Ethan let out, and judging by the startled look on his face, when three heads turned to look at him at the exclamation, he had not meant to say that out loud. "You look amazing, ma'am," he told Sharon.

Before Sharon or even Andy could react, Emily slapped his arm. "Hands off, she's taken," she admonished halfheartedly, before turning to face her mother. "But yeah, wow, mom, looking great," she told her.

Sharon laughed and said, "Thank you." She pointedly ignored Andy's smirk (of course he noticed the sudden compliments flustered her somewhat) and then addressed Ethan. "But please call me Sharon. I'm only 'ma'am' at work."

"Or Captain," Andy added, smirk still in place.

Recognizing their light tones, Ethan visibly relaxed. "Oh, okay then, Sharon it is," he acknowledged. He looked at Andy questioningly then. "Is Andy okay or...?"

"Lieutenant will do," Andy told him seriously and walked out of the hallway, toward the living room, before the grin that threatened to take over his features could give him away.

Ethan gave Emily a puzzled look, but Sharon quickly spoke up. "Don't mind him. Andy is just fine," she assured him. "He thinks he's funny," she added on an eye roll.

Ethan chuckled. "Okay, that's settled then," he said on an awkward shrug.

"Ricky's in there," Emily told Ethan, giving him a pointed look that did not go unnoticed by Sharon.

Ethan seemed to take the hint and said, "I better go say hi." Before he followed Andy's earlier route, he added, quietly, although not quietly enough because Sharon caught his words, "You look stunning, by the way."

She really did in her sleeveless, dark blue dress and pulled up hair. She even matched her boyfriend's outfit, who, while wearing a black suit and simple white dress shirt, had chosen a tie in the same shade of blue.

The grateful look Emily gave his retreating back had Sharon smile, but the moment he was out of view, she zeroed in on her daughter. "So boyfriend?" she asked her, taking a couple of steps toward her to wrap her hands around her arm and snuggle into her. Her question sounded positively giddy.

"Yes, mom," Emily confirmed, sounding slightly exasperated but the way she leaned into her mother's grip told Sharon she actually appreciated her enthusiasm.

"Is that the surprise you mentioned?" Sharon asked, her cheek pressed into the side of her daughter's arm.

"What?" Emily said, sounding confused for a moment, before registering the question properly. "No, I mean, this was a surprise, too, but no, that's not the one we have in store for you and Andy."

"Ah," Sharon let out, sounding almost disappointed, but then another thing came to mind. "Improvise?" she asked.

Emily groaned, giving the heavens a quick look. "You were supposed to be here a bit earlier," she explained, "and I wanted to tell you he'd be joining us, but then-"

"Traffic spoiled your plans," Sharon finished for her.

When Emily nodded in confirmation, Sharon lifted her head off her daughter's arm and loosened her grip on her slightly so she could give her an appraising look. "So how long have you two been together?" she asked seriously, but her words were laced with unashamed curiosity, too.

"Almost 7 months now," Emily told her. She sounded rather proud of the fact.

"Mhm," Sharon hummed thoughtfully, getting a read on her daughter. "That serious then?" she asked on a smile.

Emily gave her a confident look, but looked away when she offered her quiet answer. "Yeah, very." She met her mother's gaze again and added, what Sharon could only label as love etched into her words, "I think he might be the one, mom."

Sharon knew that gaze. She had learned it decades ago, and had re-acquainted herself with it, much more intensely at that, rather recently, too. She gave Emily a long, loving look before pulling her into a hug. "Well, let me get to know him then." When she let her out of her embrace, she added, a teasing note to her voice. "I better find out what it is that made you hide him for so long then."

Emily rolled her eyes, but took her mother's hand to lead her into her living room. "You know I didn't hide him, mom," she told her on her way.

Sharon squeezed her daughter's hand. "I know," she told her honestly.

...

"So tell me," Sharon started as she lowered herself on the couch next to her son, "how did you two meet?"

Emily sat down on the armrest of the chair Ethan had made himself comfortable in, and let him answer. "In a hospital," he said, giving Emily an amused look.

At Sharon's puzzled look, Emily said, "Remember when I sprained my ankle?"

When Sharon nodded, Ethan went on, "Met in the emergency room, she tried to bite my head off actually."

"So you're a doctor?" Sharon asked, perking up at the possibility, a hint of surprised awe in the question, too.

"Oh, no," Ethan waved a hand through the air. "Twisted my knee chasing after a suspect. I'm a cop."

"Ah," Sharon let out, her earlier awe disappearing instantly as she practically visibly deflated. "Um, what happened?" she asked, trying to mask the sudden disappointment (or was it worry?) that washed over her.

A try that did not work out so well, because Ricky snickered and muttered under his breath, "Smooth, mom."

He sobered the moment her unimpressed glare hit him.

Ethan looked slightly puzzled, clearly not sure whether she was asking about his accident or his meeting Emily. He didn't miss her generally strange reaction either. "Dude's accomplice tripped me while I was running after him. We caught them both in the end, but my partner ended up giving me a ride to the ER. Started flashing his badge to get me ahead of the line, when Emily here," he shot her a quick look and tapped her hand that was on top of her knee, "got to her wobbly feet and told me off, saying unless I was dying, I could wait like the rest of them mortals."

Ricky, Andy and Emily chuckled. "The ER was really packed that day," she added.

"Anyway, I bought her a cup of coffee later to apologize," Ethan said.

"Since his partner got him ahead of the line, anyway," Emily explained, rolling her eyes.

"And here we are now," Ethan added, shrugging.

At Sharon's slight frown, Ethan looked worriedly at Emily, whose eyebrows shot up. "What?" she asked.

"Don't mind her," Andy answered, smiling in amusement, seated on a chair to Sharon's left, across from Emily and Ethan. He leaned forward slightly to pat Sharon's knee. "She likes the rules," he explained on a smile, then gave Ethan a knowing look. "And that wasn't exactly protocol, my pal," he told him.

While Ethan paled, Emily laughed. "Oh, don't worry, mom, his Captain chewed both him and his partner out afterwards."

"Good," Sharon said on a rather intimidating smile.

"Sorry," Ethan said, truly apologetically. "We learned our lesson though, ma'am," he said.

"Good," she said again, a warmer smile on her lips now. "And it's Sharon," she corrected again.

"Right," he nodded. "Sharon," he confirmed.

"Em, is the food ready?" Ricky suddenly asked. "I'm starving," he added on a groan.

"Oh, right," Emily jumped to her feet. "The table's already set, let's just move this over there," she added, motioning a hand through the air to get them moving.

...

Over dinner, Sharon, with the occasional interjection from Andy, continued her interrogation of Emily's boyfriend. At one point, Emily realized she was rather grateful for Ethan's chosen profession, because she could not remember her mother ever being so thorough with her questions for any of her other boyfriends. He was familiar enough with the concept of police interrogation and she thought the familiarity served him rather well at the moment.

As they found out, Ethan went to the Academy straight out of high school. Half-way through it, his parents were killed in a car accident, and being an only child with no other family but a grandmother on his father's side, he had spent the past 10 years more or less fending for himself and helping his grandmother out.

Sharon had been clearly touched by his rather tragic story but had not pushed for details, instead only expressed her admiration for the life he managed to make for himself.

He was currently a detective in the Central Robbery Division and had aspirations to move up the ranks.

"You better start following protocol, then," Sharon told him at that, teasingly.

"It certainly did wonders for me," Andy added sarcastically.

They sat next to each other at the table, so she nudged a shoulder against his. "Well," she started pointedly, voice going up slightly, "you could have made Captain years ago if you had spent less time butting heads with FID and more time following their protocols."

Andy gave her a wide-eyed look. "Have you met me?" he asked her, voice going up in disbelief. "Rules, protocol and all that aside, me," he pointed a hand at himself, "and a captain-ship? Really?"

She laughed, as did Emily and Ricky. "Point taken," she admitted. "Although you still could have if you wanted to."

Andy just shrugged, deciding arguing was pointless.

"FID?" Ethan asked. "You worked in Internal Affairs?" he gave Emily, seated next to him, a puzzled look. "But Emily said you headed Major Crimes."

"That's right," Sharon confirmed. "I took over Major Crimes," she exchanged a quick look with Andy, "almost 6 years ago. But I spent the better part of my career in IA."

"We brought her back from the dark side," Andy added proudly.

"Ha-ha," Sharon retorted sarcastically.

Ethan, however chuckled, and then, clearly glad for the opening to ask a few questions of his own, said, "That's also when you took Rusty in then?"

Emily had told him about her adopted brother and, since he wasn't exactly clear on the timeline, he guessed it must have been around that time.

"Yes," Sharon confirmed on a smile. "And three years later," she gave Ricky, who sat at the head of the table to her right, an amused, but knowing look, "after a few bumps in the road," he grimaced guiltily, "he finally agreed to legally become my son."

"Agreed to," Andy repeated, scoffing. "Kid loves her to bits, it was a no-brainer really," he told Ethan. He was embellishing a little (or a lot), he knew, but he wanted to try giving Sharon more credit for that than she was willing to give herself.

Sharon shot him a bland look, clearly recognizing his hidden agenda, but smiled as she replied. "And I love him, too."

"That's one hell of a thing to do," Ethan said, completely in awe even though the adoption wasn't news to him. "Most people give up on small kids, let alone almost adult ones."

"That's our mom," Ricky said, smiling proudly at his mother. "Got a heart the size of the universe."

"Yeah," Emily confirmed, smiling at her from across the table.

"Rusty did all the work, really," Sharon said in an attempt to wave off their praise. "I only ever gave him a roof over his head and the chance to try."

"You did more than that, Sharon," Andy told her gruffly, giving her a look that brook no argument.

She therefore, only smiled at him in return.

...

They moved back into the living room after dinner, getting to know Ethan as he got to know them, over a few drinks and some music in the background.

They made their way to the rooftop a few minutes before midnight. And, not surprisingly, they were not the only ones with the same idea. However, there were less than a dozen other people there and after exchanging only the most necessary of pleasantries with her neighbors, Emily led them to one of the corners of the rooftop where they could wait for the new year in relative privacy.

They all stood on the edge of the quaint fence, ears tuned in to the sound of Ricky's phone where the radio was on, for the sole purpose of hearing the final countdown.

He stood between the two couples, Sharon and Emily on each of his sides, their respective partners next to them. Ricky was armed with a champagne bottle, ready to pop it open the second the next year started. Emily and Sharon had put down five champagne glasses on a little improvised concrete table behind them.

They started loudly counting down the seconds as the announcer on the radio started to do so, too.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5." Andy and Sharon turned to one another, as Emily and Ethan did the same. Ricky's eyes were set on the night sky, hands ready to pop the bottle in 5 seconds.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1." They all yelled out in unison.

When the clock finally struck midnight, and with it the New Year, several things happened at the same time.

The sky exploded in the colors and sounds of fireworks.

The champagne bottle opened with a loud pop, its bubbles quickly drenching Ricky's hands.

Emily and Ethan closed what little space was left between them and greeted one another in a New Year's kiss.

Sharon and Andy did the same.

The couples pulled apart after a few moments, at roughly the same time, a loving "Happy New Year," on each of their lips, as they snuggled into one another's embraces to look at the illuminated night sky.

"Talk about being the fifth wheel," were Ricky's first words in the New Year.

When four heads turned to look at him, he was grinning confidently, but seemed to be feeling slightly out of place.

Emily grinned at him and wrapped an arm around his waist. "You're a big boy, aren't you? Get yourself a girlfriend and problem solved."

The rest of them laughed at him but Ricky gave her a serious look. "You know what?" he said. "That might just be my New Year's resolution!"

That sent them into another bout of happy laughter, but Sharon snaked an arm around him, careful to grab hold of her daughter's arm wrapped behind him, too. "Happy New Year, you two!" she told them, propping herself up on her toes to reach Ricky's cheek and kiss it.

He wrapped his arms around his mother and sister and replied in kind, "Happy New Year!"

"Glasses at the ready?" Ricky asked then.

"Count me out," Andy said, putting a palm up to refuse Ricky's offered glass.

"Non-alcoholic, Andy" Ricky told him, filling the glass up. He pressed it into his raised palm. "No idea what it tastes like, but," he shrugged and chuckled, "gotta find out some time."

"We counted you in, Andy," Emily added, shaking her head but smiling at him.

"Oh, thanks," Andy said, finally accepting the glass and giving Sharon a slightly surprised look, but she only smiled in return.

They clanked their glasses over a merry chorus of "Happy New Year!" and took a sip of their drinks.

"Very happy," Sharon added, looking warmly at her children and Ethan from Andy's renewed embrace.

"It sure is," Andy agreed quietly, briefly pressing his lips to her temple, having been the only one to catch her whispered words.

...

A little after 2 am Ricky dropped Sharon and Andy off at their hotel. Sharon had initially wanted to simply grab a cab, but after arguing that he had only had one glass of wine and was therefore more than capable of giving them a ride, Ricky had managed to talk her into letting him give them a ride.

The drive was much less eventful this time around. With various parties still fully in progress, the streets were practically deserted, not counting the odd couple or group of merry, slightly inebriated people, or the occasional yellow cab or two.

"Wanna call Rusty?" Andy asked Sharon as she slipped out of her heels. He had put away their coats and sat down on the bed and was ridding himself of his own shoes.

"No, I don't want to interrupt anything," she said on a sigh as she straightened up. "It's not midnight there yet anyway."

Andy quirked a surprised eyebrow at her but decided to leave it at that. Instead he asked, "So, Ethan?" Now, finally alone, they could at long last talk about the latest news.

Recognizing the curious amusement in his tone of voice, Sharon walked over to him and, stopping a step away from him, said, matter-of-factly, "What about Ethan?"

He rolled his eyes at her, but placed his hands on her hips to pull her closer. "Seems like a nice guy," he told her before pressing a kiss into her belly.

"He does," she confirmed, running a hand gently through his hair.

Andy looked up, "But he's a cop."

At that, Sharon looked heavenward, and turned around and out of his loose hold to, rather ungracefully, flop down onto the bed next to him. "He's a cop," she confirmed on almost a groan.

"That bad, huh?" Andy asked on a grin, bumping his shoulder against hers.

"It's not bad," she said curtly, clearly not amused by it. "But of the 7 billion people on this planet, she just _had_ to go and pick a police officer," she gave him a pleading look as if he had it in him to change that particular detail about her daughter's boyfriend.

"Well," he shrugged, voice going suspiciously high, "it could have been worse."

She gave him a puzzled look. "How?" she asked.

"Could have picked a lawyer," he quipped, raising his eyebrows meaningfully.

She laughed and rested her head against his shoulder. "You're awful," she admonished.

He only chuckled at that.

"I don't mind cops, of course." She lifted her head and looked at him. "I am one," she said, then rolled her eyes. "I'm marrying one for crying out loud."

He smiled, but said on a more serious note, "But you didn't expect Emily to get dragged into that kind of life, huh?"

She sighed and let her head drop to his shoulder again. "No, not really," she admitted. Then she groaned, making Andy chuckle at her suddenly so uncharacteristic behavior, and added, "And to make matters worse, I really like him. He seems like a nice young man." She sounded almost angry with herself and that only made Andy chuckle again.

"Emily's certainly head over heels," Andy added insult to injury.

"She is," Sharon confirmed on a wistful sigh. "She told me she thought he might be the one," she said quietly after a brief pause.

"Hmm," Andy let out, surprised slightly. "And what do you think about it?"

"Doesn't matter," Sharon instantly replied, looking up at him again. "Whether I liked it or not, it's her decision to make." She then added, shaking her head at herself, "And I do like it, even if he's a cop."

"And if you didn't?" he asked, shrugging out of his suit jacket now.

"I'd tell her, of course, but let her decide," she told him in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

He believed her, of course, but he also knew her well enough by now and said, almost mockingly, "After carefully placing a comment here and there to nudge her into the right direction?"

She smirked. "Maybe," she said, coyly almost.

He laughed and got to his feet to hang up his jacket. "So that was the surprise?" he asked on his way over to the coat rack.

"According to Emily, no," Sharon said.

Andy gave her a questioning look but it seemed like that was all she knew so he just let out an, "Ah," in response.

"They're on a roll," Sharon complained, watching him as he sat down next to her again."I don't even have an idea about _when_ we'll get the surprise, much less about _what_ it is."

"They are," Andy agreed, smiling. "But it wouldn't be much of a surprise if you did, now would it?" he added on a grin.

She only rolled her eyes in response, clearly not appreciating his logic.

His eyebrows suddenly went up when something suddenly occurred to him and he asked, "Was your educated guess correct?"

She gave him a mischievous smile. "Yes," she confirmed.

"How did you know?" he asked, genuinely baffled.

Sharon considered her words for a moment before answering. "I've only ever met two of her boyfriends," she gave him a knowing look, "not counting her prom date, of course." She smiled then. "And each time, right before she introduced them, this was how she acted, fidgety, nervous, checking her phone more often than not. And Ricky and his teasing and the knowing looks." She shook her head, "Ricky always knew before me."

Andy snickered. "Are you really that awful that she has to hide her boyfriends from you?" he asked in light humor.

"No, that's not it," Sharon told him, looking at him completely seriously. "I can't really explain it, even though I do understand it." Her brow furrowed as she searched her thoughts for a way to explain anyway. "Emily has set herself a pretty high bar, I think, and she believes my bar is even higher. So unless her current interest passes her," she paused, clearly unsure of the word to use, "tests," she grimaced at the word she settled on, "she keeps it to herself."

"And is your bar really set that high?" Andy couldn't help but ask.

"No," Sharon said gently, shaking her head slowly. "As long as she, all three of them, actually, find someone who will make them happy, love them and be kind to them, I'll be happy, too."

Andy smiled and took hold of one of her hands. "Sounds like you," he told her. "What about Ricky?" he then asked.

"Oh," Sharon shook her head more violently now, her eyes going slightly wider, "I've never met any of his girlfriends."

Andy briefly wondered if that was because he hid them on purpose or he simply never had one worthy of a meeting with his mother, but then laughed, shaking his head. "That's not what I meant. I mean, how come Ricky always knew?"

"Oh," she let out in realization. "That young man has the worst timing in the world, Andy," Sharon told him, sounding rather amazed by the fact.

Andy burst out laughing.

When they had asked how Ricky met Ethan, they found out it was completely by accident. A couple of months ago, Emily had answered one of Ricky's Skype calls while Ethan was in her shower. Poor Ethan, not having heard Emily talking with someone (he usually always did), walked into her living room after he was done showering, draped in nothing but a towel, right into the field of view of Emily's laptop's camera. Suffice it to say, it was a much more awkward affair than Andy's unexpected introduction to Sharon's parents.

"Wow, poor Ricky," Andy managed to get past his laughter.

Sharon laughed. "Poor Emily!" she countered.

He hugged her then and they stayed quietly embraced for a few moments.

"You know," Andy finally broke the silence, his suddenly low tone of voice instantly changing the mood between them, "there's nobody here to walk in on the two of us."

She laughed softly but agreed with an absentmindedly soft, "True."

She seemed content just sitting like that, tucked into his side, so he wrapped his arm more tightly around her and pressed a kiss into her hair.

"Don't fall asleep on me," he said quietly after a minute or two.

She hummed. "I'm not sleeping." She snuggled even more into his side. "Just soaking up the moment," she told him.

He loosened his arm around her and drew his hand back until he reached the exposed skin of her back. "That's a good idea," he told her, tracing circles over her lower back with his thumb.

When he slipped his fingers underneath her dress, she chuckled. "I thought you liked the dress," she teased in a low voice.

"I said I loved it actually," he corrected cockily, tracing his fingers up her back now.

When he reached her shoulders and started pushing her dress aside one of them, she laughed and suddenly stood up.

"Hey," he all but yelled. "What do you think you're doing? I was in the middle of unwrapping you." He watched her walk toward the bathroom, jaw dropped.

"And," she turned to look at him when she reached the door, " _I_ was in the middle of," she repeated his words pointedly, "soaking up the moment."

"Not over there you weren't," Andy grumbled, although he was looking at her in amusement now.

"No, but this hotel room offers a rather large tub, I believe," she quipped and walked into the bathroom.

Andy frowned for a moment. "Tub," he muttered, shaking his head. Then it dawned on him. "Soak," he let out more excitedly.

He scrambled to his feet, going and hollering after her, "Wait for me!"

 **TBC**

* * *

I'll reveal the final surprise in chapter 16, so stay tuned!

Oh, and thank you all for the reviews! Keep 'em coming!


	15. Chapter 15 - Fun

Here's a shorter chapter. A filler really, a series of snippets, I guess, but rest assured, the next one should more than make up for it. Enjoy! :)

* * *

 **Chapter 15 - Fun**

When Sharon woke up the next morning, the first thought that crossed her mind was that she'd rather just go back to sleep.

Andy had nestled his forehead in between her shoulder blades and held her close with an arm draped over her blanket-covered stomach, while peacefully snoring away.

She felt comfortable and warm and even though they really had no big plans for the day and the idea of just staying in bed wrapped up in a blanket and Andy sounded very tempting, she opened her eyes and let the daylight chase her sleepiness away.

Just as she did that, she felt his hold on her tighten for a moment. A second later he lifted his forehead and replaced it with his lips. He half hummed, half groaned as he did so.

She smiled to herself, leaning into his kiss. "How do you always do that?" she suddenly asked, her voice going up with her wonder.

He lifted his head and looked at her over her shoulder. "Do what?" he asked sleepily, raising a puzzled eyebrow at her.

She turned her head to meet his look. "Wake up almost the instant I do," she answered on a smile.

He snuggled into her back but still looked at her over her shoulder. "I'm a detective," he told her on a cocky grin before dropping a kiss on the tip of her nose.

She laughed. "Of course you are," she retorted sarcastically.

"Well, I am, _Captain_ ," he told her pointedly, making room for her as he turned her onto her side. "But if you really want to know," he trailed off, kissing her properly this time.

"I do," she confirmed, wiggling out of his kiss.

He shook his head at her sudden eagerness, but replied seriously, "I just notice you're no longer completely relaxed."

At her look of slight disbelief, he said defensively, "It's true. I think your breathing changes slightly, too. Don't know how, but I just pick up on it, I guess."

"You used to only notice if I got out of bed," she said on a smile, pulling a hand up to caress his cheek.

"Practice makes perfect?" he tried, smiling widely at her.

She chuckled. "It would seem so," she said before leaning up to kiss him.

He pulled the covers off to climb on top of her, but stopped mid-movement to smirk at the sight of her. "Did you not pack any sleepwear?" he asked teasingly.

"I did," as he very well knew and had already seen her wear, "but a certain someone did not let me put any on last night," she replied, sounding overly sarcastic, but smiling widely.

"I'll thank him later," he quipped, finishing his movement and kissing her with more determination this time.

...

"What time is it?" Sharon asked as she finally got up and out of bed.

"No clue," Andy replied. He lay sprawled across the bed on his stomach and was watching her as she made her way to the bathroom. "Haven't seen my phone since last year I think," he said on a chuckle. "No clue where my watch is either right now," he added, looking around the room in hopes of spotting it somewhere.

A moment later her head popped out of the bathroom. "Here," she said, holding out a hand in front of her face. She was holding his watch. "10:30," she added.

"That late, huh?" Andy asked, impressed.

She threw him his watch and walked into the bathroom again. "We did have a late night," he heard her say.

He rolled over onto his back, tying the watch around his wrist. "That we did," he mumbled, grinning to himself.

...

"You know," Sharon said, from where she sat on the bed, watching Andy button up his shirt as he came out of the bathroom, "I haven't seen my phone since last year either, I think."

Andy laughed but reached for her clutch and walked over to the bed to give it to her. "Happy hunting," he told her, turning around to find his jacket, where his own phone was in.

He then sat down next to her and they spent a few minutes checking all their missed texts and calls, all of them happy New Year wishes. It was too early to call him, but Sharon texted Rusty with promises to call him later.

Just as she deposited her phone onto the nightstand, it went off again.

"Lieutenant Provenza," Sharon said, surprised, as she checked the screen. "Happy New Year," she read the part of the text that was visible without opening it, out loud. Then, when she did open it, she frowned and turned her phone to Andy.

Andy looked at it, then chuckled. "Well, you told him to keep you updated, didn't you?"

"'Caught a case.' does not constitute an update," she retorted blandly, clearly not as amused by her second in command as Andy was.

He saw her thumb over Provenza's name to give him a call so he quickly covered her hands with his. "Ah-uh," he told her.

"Why not?" she arched an eyebrow at him in warning.

"Because," he carefully extracted her phone out of her hold, "neither one of us is on call today and we both have tomorrow and the day _after_ tomorrow off." He put her phone back down on the nightstand.

"I need to know what's going on, Andy" she said, mildly annoyed now, reaching for her phone again.

"No, you don't," Andy retorted, reaching for her hands to stop her. "You only want to," he told her, with a knowing raise of an eyebrow.

She pursed her lips, but finally relaxed and relented. "Fine."

"Thank you," he told her and meant it.

...

It was past noon by the time Sharon and Andy finally made their way out of their hotel room. They had only made dinner plans with Ricky and Emily (Ethan, too) for the day and could fill the rest of it whichever way they wanted to.

First order of business was breakfast. Or lunch, seeing as it was almost one o'clock by the time their order came in. They ate at the hotel, having been too hungry to spend an hour in search of another decent place to eat.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Andy asked Sharon as they exited the hotel. The street was surprisingly busy considering it was the first day of the year and a Sunday, but apparently that was the norm in New York.

"Let's just walk," she started, entangling their arms to tug on him and get them both moving, "and see where our feet take us."

He fell into step with her without protest but couldn't help his wonder. "You just want to take a random stroll around New York City?"

She gave him a surprised look. "Why not?" she asked.

"I'm not saying don't," he assured her. "I only expected something," he paused, not sure how to express himself, "more planned out is all."

"It is planned out," she said on a laugh. "I plan on letting our feet take us to Central Park," she informed him. "For starters," she added, flashing him a playful smile.

He chuckled. "I knew it wouldn't be random," he mumbled, shaking his head.

"Do you have a better idea?" she asked, looking at him expectantly.

"Nope, just find me a Starbucks afterwards and I'm good," he assured her.

"Alright then," she leaned into his arm a bit more, "you've got yourself a deal."

...

They spent more than an hour walking and eventually they even found their way to the New York City Ballet.

"So this is where Emily performs, huh?" Andy asked, looking around them as they sat down on the edge of the fountain that stood in the middle of Lincoln Center Plaza.

"Yes," Sharon confirmed on a proud sigh. "Among other places," she added, snaking an arm around his waist to lean into him.

"Impressive," Andy said, wrapping an arm around her, and rubbing a hand over the side of her arm. It was rather chilly outside.

"I haven't seen her perform in a while," Sharon said, somewhat regretfully. "I caught a recent performance when they went on tour and stopped by LA," she added, "but I wish we'd have made this trip before they went on holiday break." Emily had no upcoming gigs until late January. And until then, as of tomorrow, her only duties were practice and rehearsals.

"Well, we can try doing something about that then," he told her, squeezing her for a moment.

She hummed. "Yes, maybe we can," she agreed, resting her head against his bicep.

They stayed quiet for a moment, not even the chatter of the people walking by or the cars driving by encroaching on the comfortable little bubble they found themselves in. It was Sharon who burst it with a question Andy hadn't heard in days. "How are you feeling?"

He let out something in between a scoff and a snort. "It's maybe too late, but I have an idea for your New Year's resolution," he told her instead of giving her an answer.

She lifted her head to look at him, loosening her hold on him, only to find him grinning at her. The way she raised her eyebrow let him know he ought to elaborate on that and he did so willingly. "You should stop asking me that," he said, reducing his grin to a warm smile, loosening his own hold on her.

She smiled somewhat guiltily. "I know," she admitted in a soft, serious voice. "But I just need to make sure, okay?"

"I feel just fine, Sharon," he said slightly exasperatedly, but kissing her forehead. "You don't need to make sure, okay?" She gave him a matching exasperated look, but he went on before she could argue. "Trust me, if I start feeling off," he gave her a pointed look to show her he meant it, "even the slightest bit, you'll be the first to know."

She considered his words for a moment, looking through him rather than at him. When she finally refocused on him, she asked, "Promise?"

He chuckled. "I promise," he told her seriously.

She took a deep breath and nodded to herself more than him. "Okay then. I'll stop asking."

"You will?" he asked, surprised now, clearly not having expected to have the matter settled so easily.

"I will," she gave him an amused smile at his still surprised look. "You make no empty promises, remember?"

He looked heavenward, in amusement though. "Sounds vaguely familiar," he mumbled, pulling her into his embrace again.

...

After spending the rest of their afternoon in a nearby Starbucks with a cup of hot coffee, where Sharon took the opportunity to call Rusty, they took a cab to Emily's place. From there, Emily took them and Ricky to a restaurant, where they met up with Ethan, too, for dinner. This time, Sharon did not argue when Emily (and Ethan) offered to pay for it. She (and Andy) recognized the gesture and appreciated it, too.

Ricky took them back to their hotel afterwards, while Ethan dropped Emily off at her place. Before letting them out of the car however, Ricky pushed an envelope into his mother's hands.

"What's this?" Sharon asked, inspecting the envelope. Andy, sitting in the back seat, leaned forward between the two front ones to take a look, too.

"Open it later," Ricky told her, putting a hand over hers to stop her from opening it. "Just a little something to fill your day tomorrow."

Sharon's eyebrows shot up, but she nodded, and rather carefully said, "Okay."

"Now, remember," Ricky pointed a finger at her, speaking in a suddenly strict voice as if addressing a child, making Sharon's lips curve upwards in amused disbelief, while Andy behind them snickered. "Emily's tied up at work tomorrow, but I'll come by around 3 pm to pick you up, so you better get back by then, okay?"

Sharon's amused smile, spread into a full blown grin. "Is this the surprise then?" she asked, waving the envelope through the air.

"Nope," Ricky told her smugly, looking quite proud of himself for having managed to keep her in the dark so long. "It is _a_ surprise however," he added, "but you'll find out about _the_ surprise," he quirked his eyebrows in amusement, "when I pick you up tomorrow to meet up with Emily after work."

"So be ready at 3," Andy said, reaching for the door handle, "got it."

Sharon's head turned around to shoot him a look, his matter-of-fact, not at all curious, tone of voice catching her by surprise.

"What?" he asked defensively, but, deciding to deal with him later and letting him get out of the car, she addressed her son. "You're really not going to tell us what this is all about?" she asked, waving the envelope through the air again.

"That would spoil the surprise, mom," Ricky told her on an exasperated note, shaking his head at her as he turned his attention to the steering wheel in front of him, a clear sign that she was not only allowed to get out of the car now, but that he also wanted her out of the car now.

She narrowed her eyes at him briefly, then shook her head. "Fine," she said finally. She kissed him on the cheek and made a move to open her own door. "See you tomorrow, Ricky." She got out, and turned around to lean inside. "Drive safely," she told him.

When he mumbled an equally exasperated, "Always do," she smiled and closed the door, letting him drive off.

...

When they entered the lift that would take them to their hotel room's floor, Sharon finally said, "Really?"

They stood shoulder to shoulder and Andy turned his head to look at her, surprised by her unimpressed tone of voice. "What?" he asked.

She turned around to meet his gaze. "You're not at all curious about what they have in store for us?" she asked, her disbelief etched in every single word she let out.

He laughed. "Of course I am, but I know they won't tell us until they show us. Why waste my breath on questions then?" He shrugged. "It's much more fun this way anyway."

She turned around to face the door again. "Some detective you are," she told him, teasingly now.

His eyebrows shot up. "What's that supposed to mean?" he winced when he realized how high up his voice went.

"Aren't you curious by nature?" she asked in reply.

He frowned but then slumped his shoulders. "Okay, since we don't know what they have planned for when Ricky picks us up, how about," he started in a rather indulging tone of voice, "you open that envelope and we at least find out how we're spending our time until then?"

Her entire features suddenly erupted in a rather devilish smirk. "I don't think so," she said, tucking the envelope safely into her purse. She practically mocked him with the exaggerated way in which her fingers let go of it as she pulled her hand back.

"What?" he asked, voice going up again with the bewilderment he felt now. "Why the hell not?" He sounded mildly irritated now.

"It's much more fun this way," she quipped, just as the elevator doors opened to let her out onto their floor.

Andy just threw his hands up in disbelief and shot a look at the elevator ceiling. He then shook his head and went after her.

 **TBC**


	16. Chapter 16 - Full of Surprises

Here's a long chapter for you (playing a bit with Sharon's history, Shandy's history, too, I guess). I've not even started on my next chapter, but I think I'll finally wrap this story up with it. :)

* * *

 **Chapter 16 - Full of Surprises**

Andy had spent the better part of the rest of their previous evening trying to get Sharon to open the envelope but she would not budge.

For someone who usually did not exercise much self-control when things were kept from her, she had no qualms keeping herself in the dark if it meant irking him a bit in the process as well.

However, she had only kept herself in the dark until the following morning, when, while he was going through his morning routine, she had taken the opportunity to find out how they were supposed to spend their time until Ricky picked them up.

When he stepped out of the bathroom she greeted him with a wide, awfully suspicious-looking smile and said, "I know where we're going today."

For the briefest of moments he had thought she figured out the surprise but when he noticed the envelope she waved through the air with one of her hands, he realized she was talking about the first part of their day.

And suddenly, they were put on a level playing field. Suddenly, he joined her in her curious and impatient state. Only not about the grand surprise Emily and Ricky so carefully hid from them, like Sharon, but about the one tucked inside an envelope she was practically waving in his face at the moment.

"You can really be mean when you want to, you know that, right?" he grumbled, buttoning down his shirt.

"I know," she confirmed on a teasing grin as she stood up from the bed on which she was waiting for him, to help him with his buttons.

He let her take over the task. "Worst part is, I don't even know why I'm suddenly dying to find out," he complained.

Her grin only widened. "Because I know something you don't," she quipped.

"It's that simple, huh?" he asked sarcastically, knowing fully well that she had hit the nail square on the head.

"It is," she confirmed, still grinning at him.

"Damn," he muttered, sending her into a fit of soft laughter.

She ran a hand down his shirt when she was done. "You should look at it from the bright side," she said, quirking an eyebrow playfully at him.

"What bright side?" he asked, annoyed, reaching for his tie and wrapping it around his neck.

She turned around to find her blazer. "You'll be put out of your misery in an hour or two." She turned around to look at him as she slipped into her located blazer, before adding on an eye roll, "I have to wait till 3 pm."

"Huh," he let out in surprise as he contemplated her words, his eyebrows going up briefly. Truthfully, he could have just looked into the envelope himself (a fact she was well aware of as well), but he liked this game, they both did, even if, ever so slightly, it somewhat irritated him. And he rather loved seeing her in such a playful, teasing mood, too. "You're right," he confirmed, grinning himself now as he tied his tie around his neck.

She shook her head at him. "And I'm mean?" she asked blankly.

He took a step closer to her. "You're adorable," he told her, pressing a kiss to her lips.

He chuckled at the bland look she offered him when, after she did not respond to his kiss, he pulled back. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me," he assured her on a smirk, before kissing her again.

...

After breakfast, around 10 am, Sharon finally led the way toward their first surprise of the day.

"The Met?" Andy asked in disbelief.

She had indeed come to a stop in front of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was only a 20 minute walk away from their hotel.

"Yes," Sharon excitedly confirmed, fishing their tickets out of her purse.

"How is that a surprise for me?" Andy asked her sarcastically.

"Oh, hush," Sharon slapped his arm. "You love it already."

With that she grabbed him by the arm and moved them toward the entrance.

...

He was never one for art, museums and the likes of it before. It was Sharon with whom he first went to such a venue more or less willingly, back when they weren't even dating. And to his utter surprise, he actually liked it.

"You know why I like this stuff now?" he asked her when, around 1:30 pm they started making their way back to the hotel, her arm hooked in the crook of his elbow.

"Now?" she repeated, looking at him in surprise.

"Yes, now," he told her curtly. "What?" he asked when her surprise did not abate, "You thought I was always as obsessed with these," he waved a hand behind him in the direction of the museum they had just left, "as you are?"

Her eyebrows shot up. "Well, you never really complained," she told him, ignoring his little jab.

"I hid it well," he told her on a grin.

"So why?" she prodded, reminding him of his original question.

"Because of you," he told her simply, shrugging his shoulders and focusing on looking in front of them again.

"Me?" she let out, voice going up slightly. She looked in front of them as well, as she considered his answer. "The first time we went to this stuff," she repeated pointedly, "was when I called in a favor," she said.

She was right. It was some fancy get-together, a charity auction at some gallery, he was fuzzy on the details, but she had called in a favor since mostly some of the higher ups of the city would be attending and she wanted a familiar face at her side. Rusty could not be talked into it for the life of her. It was one more thing he learned about her back then actually. Although she could mingle with and handle the brass just fine, she by no means did so because she liked it.

"True," he confirmed. "And I really only went because I owed you a favor," he told her, giving her a smirk. "But then I saw how you acted there, and it piqued my interest." A note of teasing entered his voice.

"Acted there?" she asked on a frown. "How on earth do I act there?" She did not sound amused. If anything, her tone of voice told him to tread carefully.

"Relax," he told her, patting her hand that was on top of his arm with his. "You're wonderful there," he assured her, patting it once more.

"Would you please just explain?" she asked, clearly not in the mood for his usual teasing.

He chuckled. "I would," he said, chuckling again when she rolled her eyes. "That evening, and many of the following evenings, too, let me in on a side to you that you hide rather well at work."

"Well, in our line of business there isn't much opportunity for discussing art or ballet," she said on a more relaxed note now. She chuckled then added, "Unless we start picking up art dealers or ballet dancers as suspects more often."

He laughed. "Yeah, exactly," he confirmed. "And then I found out how giddy and excited you get at an art gallery." He gave her an amused grin. "You look positively hungry for knowledge there."

"I do love it," she admitted on an almost dreamy note.

"Yeah, I noticed," he told her on a laugh.

"I actually thought you'd decline when I asked," she then said, giving him a quick surprised look.

"It was a possibility," he admitted. "I'm not one for such classy displays."

"Classy displays?" she repeated, quirking an eyebrow in askance.

"Oh, come on," he let out on almost a groan. "Everything about you practically screams 'classy'. And that's something, that, by then, I concluded based on work only," he gave her a pointed look. "And then you go and invite me to some fancy gala." He looked heavenward, "Me, the resident ruffian."

"Better you than Provenza," she quipped, holding back a chuckle at his choice of words. "And what you lack in class you make up for in style," she added, eyeing his outfit appreciatively. Not that she could really see his suit and tie underneath, since he was wearing a long black coat over it at the moment.

He laughed. "True," he confirmed proudly. "But at the time it was a rather intimidating prospect for me." He added on a more humorous note, "Pressure to fit in and all that."

"So how come you agreed?" she asked, smiling but sounding genuinely curious.

"I owed you one," he replied simply. That favor she called in was the one he promised he owed her when she invited herself to Nicole's wedding.

"That you did," she confirmed, smiling almost teasingly.

"I was also kinda curious," he added on a grin.

She chuckled. "You really only go to these now, because I drag you with me?" she asked softly, growing more serious again.

"No," he told her honestly. "Mind you, I still go because of you, too," he grinned when she smiled, "but I also started liking expanding my own horizons."

It was another truth. In the beginning, he really just loved watching Sharon, or rather her reactions at such venues. They had been good friends by then and he had already found out a whole host of things about her, things his division barely got a glimpse of at work. He was already privy to her relaxed side outside of work but there, completely lost in this pretty strange world to him and enthusiastic when she sometimes explained a thing or two to him, he found another side to her, a side he found he rather liked, found even endearing somehow. Then, when they started dating, and the last of her reservations slowly disappeared he realized that, even though she certainly had been a big part of why he liked more sophisticated things now, too, not just sports or movies, his own, _genuine_ interest for those things really was awoken. That some of them were discovered, described or shown by her, was just an added bonus now.

"Well," she tightened her hold on him and briefly leaned her head against the side of his arm, "it's good to know I started rubbing off on you," she told him lightly.

"Started?" he repeated in feigned shock. When she shrugged, he added, "You, my dear, have had me wrapped around your little finger for a long time now. No rubbing off needed."

She laughed, but he only went on, rubbing a thumb over his chin, "Actually, I think I can pinpoint the exact moment you've managed to do that."

"Oh, is that so?" she challenged, her lips threatening to curve upwards in amusement.

"Yup," he quipped, not giving in to her challenge, and dropping his hand.

"When exactly then?" she finally asked. They both knew her curiosity would get the better of her.

"When you said, and I quote here," he told her, tilting his head at her and putting up air quotation marks, "'Uh, fine.'"

She laughed again, a full belly laugh this time. "You're so corny," she complained, no real heat behind the words.

He only shrugged. "You love it," he told her confidently.

...

They ate lunch at the hotel, where, in its restaurant they also stayed waiting on Ricky. He arrived right on the dot.

"Ready?" he asked them on a grin after greeting them.

"Your mother's been ready for about 5 days now," Andy told him, rolling his eyes in feigned exasperation.

"Ha-ha," Sharon retorted, waving a hand at her now laughing son. "Let's go then."

Ricky laughed at her some more, but led the way out of the restaurant and to Emily's car.

When they passed the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Andy pointed a finger at the building and said, "Oh, we were here yesterday."

"Cool," was all Ricky had to say to that.

He took a few more turns until he found a place to park the car and then led them toward their surprise.

When again the Lincoln Center came into view, Sharon looked at her son and spoke, "We're picking Emily up from work?" Now that she thought about it she realized that neither one of them had said where or how they'd meet up with her, only that it would be after work.

Ricky grinned. "Something like that," he told her cryptically.

Sharon's eyebrows suddenly shot up and she grinned, giving Andy an excited look before turning her attention to her son again. "I know what you're up to," she told him confidently, smugly even.

"You do?" both Andy and Ricky asked. Only, Andy sounded curious, while Ricky's words sounded almost like a taunt.

Sharon decided to answer Andy's question and looked at him. "We're going to see Emily rehearse," she told him.

Andy's eyebrows shot up but then he frowned. He stayed quiet but wondered privately how that was supposed to be a surprise for him. He learned to appreciate ballet, and, okay, maybe he was somewhat curious to see Emily perform, but truthfully, if that was their surprise for him, too, he felt a little let down.

Had Sharon kept her attention on Andy long enough she might have picked up on some of his thoughts, however, she focused on Ricky again. "The whole crew or?" she asked.

"Wait and see," Ricky told her equally cryptically, opening the door to let her inside one of the buildings that surrounded the Lincoln Plaza.

"Hi, mom, hi, Andy," they heard Emily say the moment they stepped inside.

She gave them both a quick hug and not letting go of her mother's hand led the way toward one of the auditoriums.

"Oh," Sharon let out, sounding quite disappointed when she took the huge room in.

The stage was empty, as were all the seats. No sign of a rehearsal in progress whatsoever.

"No need to sound so excited," her son teased, grinning at her sudden deflated state. Even Andy grinned at her.

"Emily," Sharon decided trying with her oldest child, "what are we doing here?"

"Come on," her daughter told her on a wide smile, tugging on her hand, "follow me."

Sharon just shot Andy a quick curious glance, before having to give in to Emily's rather firm pull.

Andy just watched as they finally disappeared backstage.

Ricky however, moved into one of the aisles and found himself a place to sit down in the third row. "Er, shouldn't we follow, too?" Andy asked him, hooking a thumb in the direction the two just vanished in.

Ricky smiled and shook his head. "Just take a seat," he told him, patting the seat next to him, "sit back and enjoy the show."

Andy's eyebrows shot up. "What show?" he grumbled, but took the offered seat.

"You'll see," was all Ricky offered in answer.

After sitting in silence for about five minutes, Ricky muttered, "Hmm, I knew it."

Andy's head snapped up to look at him. "Knew what?"

"Technical difficulties," Ricky replied, suddenly getting to his feet. "I'll be right back," he added and went down the aisle, after his mother and sister, leaving Andy, now feeling completely lost, behind.

After five more minutes or so, Ricky finally came back, wearing a huge smile on his face, clapping his hands together as if dusting them off in a job well done. When he sat down next to Andy again, he said, "You're in for a treat, my friend."

Before Andy could voice his puzzlement, the lights went out, leaving only the stage illuminated, and soft music filled the room. "Huh?" he let out and glued his eyes to the stage.

He recognized the melody only faintly, what its name was, he really couldn't tell, nor did he much care for it since finally something started happening on the stage.

Two figures entered it from a sideways entrance. He recognized Emily instantly, having been in the dance clothes he saw her in a few minutes ago. She moved elegantly over the stage, glided across it almost, in tune to the music, holding hands with another figure whose back was turned to him, but who moved equally gracefully over the stage. When they made a turn, Andy let out an impressed or rather astonished, "Whoa."

He barely registered Ricky's snicker next to him and his mumbled, "Whoa indeed."

Emily's dance partner wore clothes similar to hers, black tights and a sleek white t-shirt tucked into them, feet wrapped up in ballet shoes. Quite a change since, a few minutes ago, he had seen her wear something entirely different. She met his gaze and gave him a brief, positively bashful smile before following Emily in another elegant twirl around the stage.

The number took less than 5 minutes, 3 minutes tops if Andy really thought about it, but they felt like an eternity to him. He had only a few hours ago talked and thought about finding sides to Sharon not many ever found out about her, and just when he thought he saw all of them, he was presented with this treat.

When they were done, both Ricky and him got to their feet and walked up to the edge of the stage.

After exchanging a long hug, Sharon and Emily walked up to the edge as well and sat down there. Emily wore a huge, delighted smile and let her feet bounce against the side of the stage, while Sharon looked, for lack of a better word, dazed.

"Had fun, mom?" Ricky asked.

"Immense," she admitted, giving him a loving look. "I can't believe I still remember the steps," she added, absentmindedly looking behind her on the stage she just danced across.

Emily bumped her shoulder against hers, "It's like riding a bike, mom."

Sharon looked at her, "I can't believe I let myself get talked into this either." There was slight admonishment in her tone of voice, but the warm smile she offered her daughter made it sound like teasing instead.

"It did take effort," Ricky complained, rolling his eyes at her, but Sharon only shrugged in response.

"Whoa," Andy finally let out, the word being the only one he seemed capable of putting together at the moment. He looked rather dazed, too, judging by the look on his face, which made Emily and Ricky laugh at him.

"I think somebody else had fun, too," Emily told her mom quietly. "What do you think, Andy?" she said more loudly, addressing him now.

His head snapped up to look at her briefly, but then he pinned Sharon with a look. When he spoke, his voice held nothing but awe and wonder. "I had no idea you could do," he waved a hand at the stage behind Sharon and Emily, "that."

Sharon just gave him a timid shrug and quirked an eyebrow innocently.

"Mom used to dance," Ricky explained.

"Messed up her knee though," Emily added, giving her mom a sympathetic look, "so never pursued it as much as I have."

"I was nowhere close to Emily's level though," Sharon finally chipped in. "It's more of a hobby, really, but I haven't danced," she sighed and let out a wistful, "oh," before continuing, "in a decade or so, I think."

"Maybe," Emily agreed, rather proudly, too, "but you weren't half bad, mom."

"That was amazing," Andy said, looking at Sharon as if she had sprouted another head.

Ricky and Emily only laughed at him, while Sharon looked at Emily. "No," she disagreed, "it was alright," she allowed, "but amazing?" her voice went up. "No," she denied it. "Emily is though," she added, giving her a warm smile.

Emily drew her shoulders together, then wrapped an arm around her mom. "Thanks for letting us do this for you," she told her, hugging her close to herself.

Sharon wrapped her own arm around Emily. "Oh, thank you for talking me into it," she said, before pressing a kiss to her daughter's temple.

"So you liked our surprise?" Ricky asked. He was smiling broadly at her.

Sharon looked at him and shook her head. "I loved it, Ricky," she assured him. She looked behind herself again. "I had no idea how much I missed this," she added. She looked at Ricky again. "Thank you, I probably would have never tried this again on my own," she told him on a guilty shrug.

"Well," Ricky started on a mischievous grin, "maybe we'll get you to do it once more with Rusty around then."

Although Sharon's face lit up at the words, she shook her head. "You might get another twirl out of me today, but don't expect a repeat performance in LA."

"Skype then?" Emily tried, sounding quite eager now.

Sharon smiled in reply, but then her eyes suddenly went wide and she gave Emily a puzzled look. "How was this a surprise for Andy?" she asked her, giving Andy a look, too.

"You kidding me?" Andy almost yelled, disbelief evident.

Before he could go on, Ricky addressed Sharon, "Let's see," he tilted his head sideways slightly, pretending to think about it, "we know Rusty didn't know you could dance," he gave his mother a look of mock admonishment at that, but she only rolled her eyes in response. "He nearly did a back-flip when we told him about our little plan." Emily chuckled at that, but Ricky turned to Andy. "Did mom ever tell you she danced?" he asked him.

A frown passed Andy's features briefly, but he looked at Ricky and shook his head. "No, I had no clue." He looked between Emily and Sharon, still in each other's embrace. "I only thought you knew so much about ballet and all that because of Emily," he told Sharon, waving a hand at her daughter.

"Okay," Emily nodded, catching her brother's train of thought. "So you've never seen mom dance either?" she asked Andy.

"Not like that, not until a few minutes ago," Andy confirmed, his focus on Emily now. They had danced plenty of times together by now, but this was most definitely new.

"And did you like what you saw?" Ricky asked him, sounding and looking positively smug now.

Andy shot him another look of disbelief. "That's an understatement. I loved it," he assured him.

"See," Ricky looked at Sharon again, waving a hand at Andy. "That's how it was a surprise for your man here," he told her.

Emily snickered at his choice of words, while Andy closed his eyes briefly to shake his head.

"Ha-ha," Sharon told her son mockingly, making her daughter laugh again.

She squeezed Emily's side for a moment, making her squirm out of her hold now. Satisfied with her accomplishment, she smiled and looked at Andy. "Well, my man," she repeated pointedly for Ricky's benefit, "you're not the only one full of surprises then."

He chuckled. "No, I most certainly am not," he confirmed, nodding his head, impressed still.

"Now, help me off, please," Sharon said, smiling and extending a hand toward Andy.

"Yes, ma'am," Andy complied, taking her hand so she could hop off the stage.

...

"I still can't believe you never told me, let alone showed me."

They were in bed, ready to go to sleep. They had spent a bit more time with Emily and Ricky, got another dance out of Sharon, too (and as Emily suggested with Rusty to see it on Skype), and after dinner, they were dropped off at the hotel.

Andy was on his back. Sharon lay on her side facing him. She had an arm folded under her head while she let her other hand trace random patterns over Andy's forearm.

"It never really came up," she told him.

He turned his head to give her an incredulous look. "Never came up?" his voice went up incredulously too. "How about when I asked for your opinion on the boys' performance? Or when we went to the ballet together? Or when, yesterday, we-"

"Okay, okay," she interrupted him, lifting her hand to pat him on the chest. "Point taken," she told him, "but it was so long ago that it never really occured to me."

"Never occured to her," he muttered in disbelief, looking at the ceiling again.

She laughed at him. "Sorry," she told him, sounding not sorry at all.

He gave her a bland look. "Sure," he mumbled sarcastically.

She gave him a wide smile and moved her head to meet his lips. "I'm sorry," she told him, more honestly now.

He smiled then. "You really enjoyed yourself, didn't you?" he asked, turned to his side now, propping his head on an elbow to look at her properly.

She smiled, more absentmindedly now, and hummed. "I really did," she confirmed. "My children know me well."

"They sure do," he told her. "What happened backstage though?" he asked then.

She turned to her back then, letting out a low groan as she gazed at the ceiling. "Emily grabbed a pair of ballet shoes and shoved them into my hands." She turned her focus on Andy. "'Let's dance, mom.' she said," Sharon explained on an eye roll.

"And you said no?" Andy asked on a chuckle.

"Of course I said no!" her voice went up as if the idea to say yes was completely preposterous. "I've barely seen a ballet shoe in years, let alone worn or danced in one."

"How did they talk you into it then?" he was genuinely curious. If there was one thing absolutely everyone knew about Sharon, it was that talking her into something she didn't really want to do was nearly impossible.

She smiled. "Like I said, they know me well."

"They pulled every mom card in the book, didn't they?" Andy asked on a grin.

She chuckled. "They did," she confirmed, nodding, not at all ashamed to admit to it.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Well, I for one am glad they did," he said.

She lifted her head to follow him as he leaned up again. "I am, too," she told him before kissing him.

He followed her down when she tried pulling away, not letting go of her lips. Just as her hand found its way into his hair, Sharon's phone buzzed.

Andy groaned and pulled back onto his side, but not before shooting the suddenly offensive object that rested on the nighstand an angry glare.

Sharon laughed at him, but reached for it. When she read the message it was her turn to groan. At Andy's inquiring gaze she said, "You know, I think I liked your partner better when he hated me." She shook her head and looked at her phone again.

"Why?" Andy asked, craning his neck to take a look at it too. He burst out laughing when he read her text.

"It's not funny, Andy," she glared at him. "If I didn't know better I would say this is bordering on insubordination."

"You asked for updates, you got updates," Andy told her, still laughing.

"'Case closed.' is not an update!" The words bordered on a yell as she shook her phone practically in Andy's face.

"Oh, but it is," Andy disagreed, sounding amused now. He pushed the hand, waving her phone, to the side and leaned down. "And you know it," he told her before kissing her again.

"He's become entirely too comfortable with me," Sharon mumbled against his lips, ignoring his kiss.

Andy chuckled and leaned back again. "That's because you're entirely too likable," he told her smugly.

She only gave him an unimpressed glare before turning her head to look at the nightstand as she deposited her phone on it again. When she looked back at him, she said, "He needs a refresher course in how to respect one's superior." At his now grinning face, she added, "The both of you do, actually."

Andy only laughed again. But when he spoke, he sounded more serious. "You do know that _that_ ," he waved a hand at her phone, "actually means he respects the crap out of you?"

She gave him a soft smile. "I know," she admitted, in a gentle voice now. She then looked at the ceiling again. "But that doesn't mean I can't complain about it."

Andy laughed once more before leaning over her again. "No, it doesn't," he agreed. "But you can forget about it though," he told her before planting his lips over hers.

When she only laughed against his lips he lifted his head to look at her.

"This your best idea?" she asked him as in challenge.

His eyes narrowed, then he abruptly got off her, careful to just 'accidentally' briefly crush her with his weight in the process, making her all but giggle.

When he was finally on his feet on her side of the bed, he gave her a quick once over, sprawled on her back, hair all over the place, and grinned. "Actually, I can think of something else," he told her, then reached for her legs, lifted them only long enough to sit on the bed and put them down onto his laps.

She pushed herself up slightly, resting her upper body on her arms and gave him a coy smile. "How is that better?" she asked.

"Like this," he told her confidently and started pressing his fingers into her calves.

When she let out a low groan of pleasure and let her head fall back down on the pillow, he grinned. "Told ya," he quipped.

"You did," she confirmed on a hum.

"You know," he started, not stopping his ministrations, "I always was a leg man."

She lifted her head. "And now you're not?" she asked, voice going up with her disbelief. That particular fact was something she knew about him before they ever started dating, but once they finally did, she soon found out just how much he could appreciate a pair of legs, hers in particularly. And that was a fact she absolutely loved indulging in.

He stopped and looked at her. "Oh," he started on a low growl, "I still am." He resumed his efforts. "Only now I'm my dancing Captain's legs man."

"Oh, gosh," she dropped her head back on her pillow with a loud groan. "That better never find its way into the murder room."

"What?" he stopped his hands again and gave her a feigned look of puzzlement. "That I love your legs?" At her bland look, he added, "Because I think that's pretty obvious. I mean," he waved a hand at the legs draped over his lap, "just look at those. Ah!" he finished on another growl.

"Not that," she said pointedly, lifting her head to look at him again, then realized that maybe she meant that, too. When he laughed at the brief look of shock and puzzlement that passed her features, clearly having given away her thoughts, she dropped her head back on a high, resigned, "Oh!"

When he only laughed at her again, she wiggled her toes and waved a hand at him. "Hush, just carry on, please."

"You're only the boss at work," he grumbled, but with no real heat behind the complaint.

She chuckled, but hummed when she felt his hands dig into her flesh again.

They stayed quiet like that for a few minutes sans the occasional hum of pleasure emanating from Sharon. When suddenly, he heard a soft snore instead of a hum, he shot her a surprised look.

"Well, good night, my dear," he mumbled on a quiet chuckle, extracting himself from underneath her legs, careful not to wake her.

He lay down next to her then, turning his back to her and had to smile to himself when she scooted closer to him.

"Thanks for the massage," she mumbled against his shoulder, where she planted a soft kiss.

He scooted back, closer to her now. "Any time," he mumbled.

She ran a hand down his arm and pressed another kiss into his shoulder. "Good night," she whispered into it.

He could tell she let sleep take her once more before he could even whisper a "Good night," in return.

 **TBC**


	17. Chapter 17 - Ready to Go?

I took a few liberties with Andy's past here. Hope you don't mind. ;)

* * *

 **Chapter 17 - Ready to Go?**

They were awoken by the sound of Sharon's phone buzzing.

"Ricky," she mumbled into the phone in greeting when she reached it.

At the name, Andy lifted his head from the pillow he had stuffed his face in when the phone went off.

"Oh," Sharon said, sadly, turning Andy's curious look into one filled with worry.

"Okay, honey, text me when you land," were Sharon's next words.

"Land?" Andy mouthed the question at her, but she just shook her head slightly.

"I know, me, too. Bye!" And with that she hung up the phone and put it back on the nightstand.

"Land?" Andy now asked out loud.

Sharon slumped into the pillows, lying back down flatly on the bed. "He had to take an earlier flight," she said on a sad note. "Work," she added, waving a hand through the air.

"Wow, that sucks," Andy said, propping his head on his elbows to look at her.

"It does," she confirmed, disappointed.

Ricky was supposed to go with them to the airport that afternoon, since their respective flights took off within half an hour of each other. Emily was going to sneak out of work earlier to pick up them and their stuff and have lunch with them. She was also their ride to the airport. Those plans would now happen without Ricky.

"We at least had-"

Sharon's phone went off again, with a text this time, but it was enough to interrupt Andy's attempt to cheer her up, as he promptly shut his mouth at the sound of it.

She let out a surprised "Oh," when she reached her phone, then turned it around to show it to Andy.

He scanned the text. "Hell yeah!" he let out.

She laughed, putting her phone back. "I wonder who Ben heard that from," she said sarcastically, lying down on the bed again.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Andy told her impassively. He then abruptly lifted himself up to position himself above her. "We can finally move in!" he exclaimed on a happy grin and kissed her.

It was a text from their realtor, letting them know the house was cleared and ready for them to take over.

"Which means we can start planning our wedding, too," she told him when they pulled apart. She was smiling at him as happily as he was at her.

Andy's face lit up. They haven't talked much about the wedding yet. He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Got anything in mind?"

"Next month?" she asked hopefully.

He rolled over and lay down on the bed on his back this time. "Can't wait," he mumbled, looking dreamily at the ceiling.

She turned to her side and leaned against a hand to give him a look. "So that sounds good?"

He turned his head to look back at her. "I'd marry you right now, Sharon, so, yes," he highlighted his words with a firm nod of his head, "that sounds good."

"Well, you can't right now," she told him on a smile, "we want our kids there, remember?"

"Yup, I know, I want them there, too," he confirmed.

"Got any special wishes?" she asked, the far away sound of her voice telling him she was already in her head, coming up with God knows what.

"Not really," he told her honestly. "You already know I don't want a repeat of Nicole's wedding ordeal. Everything else," he shrugged, "I'll survive."

"Wow," she said, sounding mildly affronted, "so romantic of you."

He turned his attention to the ceiling again. "I don't know," his voice went suspiciously high, "I think it pretty much is."

"Really?" she inquired, now starting to run a hand over his chest.

He turned his head to look at her again, a positively smug grin on his face. "Well, yeah, I let my girlf-," he interrupted himself with a surprised raise of his eyebrows to correct the word, "my _future wife_ go crazy with her sense of occasion. That's incredibly romantic, I think."

"I do not go crazy with my sense of occasion," she argued, but leaned above his face to drop off a kiss after adding, "but thank you."

"You do," he disagreed against her lips. When she pulled back to look at him blandly, he added, "But don't worry, you're welcome."

"And just for that," she said, giving him a smile that looked positively intimidating, "I'll ask Nicole for advice here or there."

"Don't play with my blood pressure," he pleaded, feigning worry.

She shot him a glare. "That is not funny, Andy," she told him seriously, but leaned down to kiss him quickly anyway. "By the way, sorry for falling asleep on you last night," she said leaning back on her hand again.

"You do wonders for my ego, Sharon," he replied sarcastically.

"Well," she let her hand start on a downward path over his chest, "I could try making it up to you," she said on a coy smile.

He looked at her hand, smirking at it, obviously finding the idea tempting, but then caught it with his. "You know, you don't have to," he told her quite seriously.

She only laughed at him. "Of course, I know that," she gave him a warm smile, clearly appreciating the thought anyway. "I want to," she assured him, leaning down to kiss him again.

...

Since Andy had actually grown up in New York, Sharon was eager to see the city through his eyes. When she mentioned that desire over breakfast Andy's response was surprisingly enthusiastic.

They spent most of the morning in Harlem, where he had possibly shown her every known nook and cranny.

"I had my first kiss here," he told her on one particular corner.

At her prodding he added that he had been 12 at the time, and at the receiving end of a joke of a clique of girls his age. Apparently, the girl that kissed him had lost a bet and he was her punishment.

The fit of laughter his story sent Sharon into did not amuse him much though. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said, doing her best to pull herself together. "You poor thing," she told him on a high note, running a hand, gently down his cheek in sympathy.

"Funny," Andy told her sarcastically, although he was starting to smile at her giggling self. It was a rare sight to behold.

She propped herself on her toes and quickly kissed him then. When she pulled back, finally no longer laughing, she asked, "How's that for a kiss? Not a fi-"

He interrupted her by planting his lips on hers again, the kiss escalating somewhat. "Excellent," he told her when they pulled apart, grinning at the fact that she was rather flustered by the suddenly rather passionate exchange in the middle of a busy street. He knew she'd have not given into it it had she really minded, and that only made him grin more happily.

"Alright, moving on then," she told him, pointedly changing the topic while pulling on his arm to get them moving again.

...

He showed her some of the places he first worked in, places where he liked to stir up trouble and places where he liked to just look for a bit of peace.

That's how they ended up near the Hudson river, perched on a bench in a surprisingly quiet corner of a little park. It was rather windy and they were practically wrapped in each other's arms, enjoying the warmth their embrace offered, while Andy took her down memory lane.

"I'm glad you decided to join this side of the law," she told him, smiling, when he told her about his and his brother's joyride and how he ended up joining the academy.

"Me, too, trust me," he told her on a chuckle. "I get into enough trouble when I'm on the right side of it," he added, his chuckle turning into a laugh now.

"True," she agreed on a laugh of her own, "you'd not have made it far on the wrong side, that much is certain."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he told her sarcastically, rolling his eyes at her.

"You're welcome," she quipped, pressing a quick kiss into his cheek.

He only shook his head in response.

...

Lunch with Emily had put somewhat of a damper on Sharon's otherwise great mood.

"Mom, you know, you could cheer up at the sight of me, too," Emily told her sarcastically, when, in between courses, Sharon grew rather melancholy. At least if the way she gazed into her glass of wine was anything to go by.

"I'm sorry, honey," Sharon looked up at her. "I was really looking forward to a final lunch with both of you."

"There'll be more lunches, mom," Emily told her, rolling her eyes, then shooting Andy, seated next to her mother, a look, too.

"Ah-uh," Andy raised his palms up in surrender, "don't look at me. I'm siding with your mother on this," he told her seriously. "Getting hold of all you kids is close to a miracle sometimes. We take what we can get and hold on to it for as _long_ as we can." He punctuated his words with the nod of his head.

"Exactly," Sharon said in support.

Emily just rolled her eyes again. "You're such," she paused, giving them a puzzled look, trying to come up with a word worthy of what they were, "parents." She settled on the word with resignation, knowing exactly what her mother would say.

"We _are_ parents." It was Andy who said it and Emily gave him a wide-eyed look, while Sharon barely held back a snort.

"Oh, God," Emily shook her head. "There's two of them now," she told no one in particular.

While Andy only laughed, Sharon, having suddenly been rather painfully reminded of him, said, "Speaking of your father," both Emily and Andy sobered at the words, even tensed up, "have you told him about Ethan?"

Andy instantly relaxed but Emily sighed, clearly not wanting to talk about it, but knowing there would be no avoiding the topic with her mother, answered, "Yeah, he said," she looked at Andy before adding, "and I quote here," Sharon frowned, clearly recognizing it could not have been anything good, "'Good luck, cops are fun.'"

Emily did not sound sad or disappointed, but rather resigned to the fact that that was simply something her oh-so supportive father would say, but Andy saw the sad shadow cross Sharon's features, and before she could offer a response he said, lightly, "That we are."

When Sharon snorted a laugh at his stupid joke, he quirked a knowing eyebrow over the table at Emily, who offered him a grateful smile in return.

"Oh, finally," Emily let out, when suddenly she noticed the waitress walking over with the rest of their food. Once they were served, she eagerly used the opportunity to switch to a lighter topic, one she had not really had the chance to grill her mother about during her visit these past few days.

"Have you started planning your wedding yet?" she asked both Sharon and Andy.

She smiled when Sharon gladly answered, clearly letting Emily drop the subject of Jackson Raydor. "We have actually," she told her, giving Andy a quick happy look.

"Well, if you call settling on a _month_ ," Andy gave Sharon an amused look, "planning."

Emily laughed. "Oh, with mom," she pinned Andy with a serious look, "it is, believe me."

Ignoring the little fun they were having at her expense, Sharon, more seriously, asked, "Will you be able to take any time off in February?"

"Mom," Emily waved a fork through the air, "I'll be there no matter what, don't worry." She gave her an amused look, before adding, "Your favorite child will, too."

Not missing a beat, Sharon retorted, "Oh, I know Rusty will be there." She focused on her plate now, and absentmindedly added, "I'll have to check with Ricky though."

"Neither one of them is here, you know," Emily told her blandly, giving her a pointed look, too.

When Andy burst out laughing, Sharon shot him a glare. "I love all of you equally," she told her daughter in a dangerously low tone of voice, but Emily only smiled smugly for having gotten one over her mother, a rare occasion indeed, making Andy laugh some more.

...

They spent the remainder of their lunch discussing Sharon and Andy's upcoming wedding, mainly throwing around ideas regarding the small gathering Sharon wanted afterwards. After splitting the bill (with no objections on any of their parts, surprisingly so) they made their way back to the car.

"Oh," Emily let out excitedly at the sight of Ethan leaning against her car. She quickened her pace to greet him and by the time a rather amused looking Sharon and Andy caught up with her, she explained before they could even voice their questions. "He didn't know if he'd make it, so I just didn't mention anything."

"Hi," Ethan said, shaking their hands. "Made it," he told them on a nonchalant shrug.

"You shouldn't have," Sharon told him on a warm smile that said she clearly appreciated the young man's gesture anyway. "Not if it was any trouble for you."

"Yeah," Andy chipped in, "we know how crazy work can get."

"Oh, no," Ethan waved them off. "I'm off the clock now, but on call and well," he shrugged again, "you never know then."

Andy rolled his eyes, "Tell me about it."

Ethan only chuckled. "So you all set?" he aimed the question at Emily.

"Yeah," she sighed somewhat sadly, "better get going, you never know with traffic."

...

When they arrived at the airport, while getting their suitcase, (they insisted on doing it themselves) Sharon quietly asked Andy to give her a moment with Emily. Although surprised by the request he obliged and pulled Ethan into shop talk he knew would keep them occupied for a while. Sharon would fill him in later when he asked about it, he knew.

Sharon had wrapped an arm around her daughter's and purposefully slowed her gait until Andy and Ethan were walking ahead of them. Deciding to just cut to the chase, she started talking the moment she was sure their little bubble was private enough.

"You said the other day," she was talking at a deliberate pace, a sure sign for Emily that whatever her mother had to say was quite serious, and that put a worried frown on her face, "that you thought he might be the one."

Emily's face instantly lit up and she gave Ethan's back a warm look. "I did," she confirmed, although her tone went up as if in askance.

"I like him," Sharon told her, giving her daughter a warm smile.

Emily knew what she liked about him; that he was kind, responsible, respectful, that he loved her, all things Sharon always told her she wished for her. "Me, too," she agreed teasingly, trying to lighten the suddenly quite heavy mood.

Sharon tightened her hold on Emily's arm. "I'm not trying to meddle," she started, and the soft, rather quiet voice her mother said that in, had Emily believe her, "but he's a police officer."

Emily gave her a puzzled look. "So?" she couldn't help the slight defensiveness that entered her voice.

Sharon shook her head at her, trying to placate her, "I only want to remind you of what that line of work entails. I wouldn't try talking you out of it, even if I wanted to but-"

Catching on to her train of thought Emily interrupted her, "But it's a risky job, huh?"

"Exactly," Sharon confirmed on a brief smile.

"I know, but-"

"But you love him," Sharon finished for her, her smile longer and warmer this time.

"He asked me to move in with him," Emily suddenly blurted out.

Sharon gave her a surprised look. "And?" she gently prodded.

"I said yes." The excitement that her words held was somewhat dimmed with the sudden worry about what her mother might think of that.

Sharon only pulled her closer to herself, slowing them down somewhat but smiling again. "Which means I have all the more reason to say what's been on my mind," she told her.

Emily pulled back to give her a look, getting them to a halt altogether. "And what's that?" she sounded genuinely curious.

"Come here," Sharon tugged on her hand now, and led them to a nearby set of chairs. They had enough time for a bit of a detour.

When they sat down she said, "When Andy had his _little dust up with the car_ ," she put air quotation marks around the words and said them on a faint eye roll, "and he had to get surgery," she continued more seriously, "there were certain decisions to be made." She gave Emily a long look. "I trust Lieutenant Provenza with both my life and Andy's and I was always kept in the loop," she looked away before regretfully adding, "But I was still kind of on the outside, you know." She looked at Emily again, to see whether she understood where she was going with this.

"Oh," Emily let out, looking away now, too as she considered her mother's words. "We've not really talked about that," she admitted. "Never really occurred to me, either," she added, looking back at Sharon again and shrugging.

"Neither had we," Sharon told her. "Although we were nowhere close to discussing matters like those at the time," she added. "But Ethan said he only had his grandmother for family and I have no idea about his partner at work or other friends... Still, if this is as serious as it looks, and," she smiled lovingly at her daughter, "it sure looks that way, I wanted you to keep that in mind." She shrugged and added ruefully, "I wish I had."

"When Andy had his heart attack, did you have his medical power of attorney then?" Emily asked.

"Yes," Sharon confirmed. "And although I was still scared to death, still am, I think," she admitted on the shake of her head, "at least, when I had questions then, I could go look for them myself and not through my second in command."

"Hmm," was all Emily could say to that.

"Come on," Sharon said suddenly. She tugged on Emily's hand again, and tilting her head in the direction of Andy and Ethan as she got to her feet, added, "They're waiting for us."

When Emily looked up, Ethan and Andy were indeed watching them from in front of the security check line, but neither one approached to interrupt them. "Okay," she said, rather distractedly, getting to her feet, too.

"I didn't mean to worry you," Sharon told her before they could start rejoining their partners.

"No, mom, you didn't," Emily assured her. "Just gave me food for thought. I'll have to ask Ethan about it."

"I only wanted you to be aware, honey," Sharon explained anyway. "In case, God forbid, something happened. I don't think I'd have said anything before, but after what happened with Andy-" she trailed off, waving a hand through the air.

"It put you on alert a bit more?" Emily tried, knowing just how worried her mother had been during both of Andy's health crises.

Sharon offered her a sad smile,. "You could say that," she admitted.

"How is he doing now, anyway?" Emily asked as they finally started walking towards both Andy and Ethan.

"He's doing well, cleared for work fully, too," Sharon told her, giving Andy a long look. He was back to talking with Ethan and did not notice her. "But-"

"You worry, I know." Emily wrapped her hands around her arm, to pull her closer to herself, as if to ease some of those worries.

"I do," Sharon confirmed, not feeling the need to explain _that_ at all.

"I'm glad he's okay," Emily told her quietly, giving Andy a look, too.

Sharon patted Emily's hand in response. "Me, too," she told her on a warmer smile now.

"And I know you're not trying to meddle, mom," Emily told her, squeezing her arm, as if to make her believe her.

"Good, because I really am trying not to," Sharon said on a shrug.

"I'm kind of grateful you do worry actually," Emily admitted. "Because I really had not thought about this," Emily told her, leaning into her arm again.

"Thought about what?" Ethan asked, the words reaching him just as Sharon and Emily reached him and Andy.

Their easy embrace obviously deceived him into believing their topic was a light one, so Emily just waved him off. "I'll tell you later," she said, exchanging a quick knowing look with her mother.

Ethan only shrugged in response.

"Ready to go?" Andy asked, tilting his head toward the check line.

Sharon gave him a quick nod, but wrapped Emily in a tight hug. "I love you, Emily," she whispered into her daughter's ear.

"Love you, too, mom," Emily whispered back.

They pulled apart but Sharon kept her hands on the side of Emily's arms. "Be kind, be-"

"Safe," Emily playfully rolled her eyes. "I know."

"Remember," Sharon turned her attention to Ethan after squeezing her daughter one more time, a lighter note in her voice now, "I'm a police Captain."

At Ethan's chuckle as Sharon pulled him into a hug, too, Andy muttered. "She's a mean shot, don't you laugh at her."

"Don't worry," Ethan offered a hand to Andy in goodbye, when Sharon let go of him, "if I mess up," he shot Emily a quick look, "you can both shoot me."

"Good," Andy told him on a smug smile, shaking his offered hand.

He then ignored Sharon's amused shake of her head and turned to hug a now chuckling Emily. "It's not my place to say so, I know, but if he does, I will shoot him, we both will," he told her quietly.

Emily just laughed softly at him as he let go of her. She shot Ethan an amused look. "It's a deal, Andy," she told him seriously, but laughed again at the puzzled looks that crossed both her boyfriend's and mother's face.

"See you at the wedding then?" Andy asked, holding back a smirk at Sharon's obvious curiosity. He'd admit to his little indiscretion later anyway.

"Of course," Emily instantly replied, while Ethan nodded in agreement.

"Thank you for a wonderful few days," Sharon told her daughter, giving her another quick hug.

"It was nothing, mom, but you're welcome," Emily replied on a smile as they pulled apart.

With that Sharon and Andy made their way past the security checkpoint and went in search of their gate.

 **THE END**

* * *

That's it, guys. My short approximately 6-chapter story turned into a 17-chapter monster. Whoops!

To all of you who'd like to read about the wedding, I actually have an idea about that. I'm thinking about doing a less fluffy and more angsty/dramatic story (haven't done anything like that yet), and it would probably be much shorter than this one. Don't know yet, but if I really end up writing something, expect it to be posted under a new title. And do tell me if you'd even be interested in that. Your thoughts can be quite the motivator (or de-motivator haha)!

Anyways, whether I write more in relation to this particular story or not, let me just thank you for being so wonderful. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I hope you liked the ending. :)


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